Spartanburg Magazine | Winter 2018

WINTER 2018

Turning Point

INSIDE Family Christmas traditions Aluminum Christmas Tree museum Curling as a sport

Former male Ballet Spartanburg dance students find success

Ethan Kimbrell

McGee Maddox

$4.95 WWW.SPARTANBURGMAGAZINE.COM

Michael Agudelo

Quinn Barrett

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Will Robichaud

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CONTENTS

HOW TO REACH US FOR STORY IDEAS OR COMMENTS

WINTER 2018

10 | WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES

48 | CURLING

World-class sporting event close to home

Winter Olympics renews interest

14 | BALLET SPARTANBURG

56 | TRYON THEATRE

Former male dancers achieve greatness

Historic movie house restored

24 | ALUMINUM CHRISTMAS TREES

64 | MARSHALL TUCKER BAND

Museum honors wacky, tacky

Spartanburg band performs in Upstate

33 | DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS

ESSENTIALS

Family shares holiday traditions

9 | FROM THE EDITOR

68 | SCENE

Jose Franco editor 864-562-7223

Jose.Franco@shJ.com

FOR SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS

JenniFer Bradley circulation coordinator 864-562-7402 JenniFer.Bradley@shJ.com

ON THE COVER

Ethan Kimbrell, McGee Maddox, Michael Agudelo, Will Robichaud, and Quinn Barrett are all former students of Ballet Spartanburg director Carlos Agudelo.

37 | PINBALL Museum honors iconic games

SUBMITTED AND ARCHIVED PHOTOS

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center For newS anD DeSiGn STAFF WRITER

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KonraD la praDe INTEGRATED MEDIA SALES MANAGER

aron GoSS ADVERTISING OPERATIONS MANAGER

Stephanie coppola CIRCULATION DIRECTOR

Ken SMith CIRCULATION COORDINATOR

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Fasten your seatbelts: Winter is coming

W

hat do you think about when you hear that winter is coming?

Hot chocolate by a roaring fire? Winter gloves and boots? Sledding on a nearby hill?

My first thought, besides Christmas, is how many inches of snow are we going to get and when will it be sunny again?

Born and raised in Texas, I was not used to the near panic or is it a sudden joy that sets in when snow is in the forecast in Spartanburg.

My very first year in Spartanburg, it snowed on my birthday -- Feb. 23. It was beautiful but it made everything appear darker and more ominous.

Driving home in my Ford Ranger, I was feeling comfortable navigating my pickup truck in the thick snow until a strong wind pulled my vehicle into a tailspin. Luckily, I was able to drive out of the ditch my vehicle landed in and I didn’t crash into the car that was driving ever too close to me.

Over the years, I’ve formed a love-hate relationship with snow.

If I can stay home and play in it with my dog Barney, I love it.

If I have to put on my thick socks, long underwear, gloves, cap, and boots and clean off my windshield and drive in it, I don’t love it as much.

I’ve come to the realization that I’m not the best of drivers on a sunny day. Ask my high school driver’s ed teacher. So add a little snow to the normally clear trek and all bets are off.

Fasten those seatbelts, everybody.

Both hands on the steering wheel and a little gas on the pedal and a little slipping and sliding and I’m on my way. All those trees in my path mean all shade and no sun on some streets and the ice hasn’t melted so I might get stuck.

Thoughts that go through my head while I’m driving: What was it they told you to do if your vehicle goes into a slide? Where is that snow plow? So why does everyone want to ride my bumper when I’m driving at a parade route speed?

But something changed this year, I embraced the snow. On January 17, I walked downtown and took photos of Spartanburg covered in white powder. It was beautiful. A few photos made me laugh. A light bulb sculpture made to look like a brain I captioned “Brain Freeze.”

On Facebook, I wrote “Barney could play in the snow all day. It’s a good thick snow, good for making snow persons and for snowball fights.”

But the love affair with snow didn’t last too long. One day later, I wrote on Facebook: “The sun is out. The ice is thawing. Took Barney for a snow-covered walk. Fell on my Blank.

Looked around to see if anyone was looking. Just a woman scraping her windshield. She probably didn’t notice. Barney didn’t. It was an Olympic gold medal worthy fall.”

Remember dear readers to watch your steps this winter, drive cautiously and carefully and take a moment to enjoy those memorable moments with a hot cup of cocoa and a pair of warm, long underwear.

Jose Franco, Editor JOSE.FRANCO@SHJ.COM

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WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES

Dressage, vaulting in world-class arenas STORY BY PAM STONE PHOTOS BY ALEX HICKS JR.

The Para-Dressage Grade 1 competition of the FEI World Equestrian Games was held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

MILL SPRING, N.C. — The success of the two-week 2018 World Equestrian Games, which wrapped up Sept.

23 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, depends on who you ask.

And it’s helpful to ascertain that the individual you ask actually attended the event, as rumors and accusations were not in short supply, particularly on social media, for the games’ duration. However, in all fairness, there were certain difficulties, especially in the opening week.

After the jubilant opening ceremonies, the first event, endurance — with its false start, compounded by oppressive heat and humidity that resulted in several horses suffering from metabolic issues, and finally the cancellation of the race — couldn’t be described as anything other than catastrophic.

One horse, New Zealand’s 20-year-old gelding, Barack Obama, was euthanized due to kidney failure, and the gathering storm both overhead and in the media created a pall that

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Jur Vrieling of the Netherlands competes in Show Jumping at the FEI World Equestrian Games at the Tryon International Equestrian Center on Sept. 19.

made many wonder what might become of the competitions to follow. Shaking off this disastrous start, the subsequent seven disciplines went off without a hitch.

It is widely known that when the Tryon International Equestrian Center’s managing partner, Mark Bellissimo, made the bid for the games they had but 18 months to pull it off. Indeed, construction continued during the event, and more than one spectator remarked that the “concrete fairies” must have appeared overnight, as it wasn’t uncommon to see new sidewalks miraculously appear the following morning, creating easier access to the main arena.

Despite the early cons — the lines for shuttles and gripes about expensive food that was in short supply, an approaching hurricane, unacceptable housing for grooms, hotels that never materialized — the pros were unfailingly pleasant. Helpful volunteers, lovely

accommodations for the horses, and world-class arenas resulted in the standard of competition being very high.

The fact that management worked diligently each day to overcome challenges, both known and unknown, deserves mentioning.

Audiences sat in rapt silence, ready to explode with applause during the grand prix dressage, particularly as the United States won silver in the team and individual competitions.

In the vaulting arena, vocal enthusiasm was encouraged to create an atmosphere of excitement before vaulters appeared and swung upon the backs of their horses.

Cheers for yet another American gold won in reining was audible outside the newly constructed indoor arena, and many of those who stood along the cross country course to view the three-day eventing competition were still talking about how beautifully designed the course

was and how well its riders tackled it.

It came as devastating news, however, that Swedish horse Box Qutie, who had suffered a soft tissue injury at the end of the cross country and was transported to Tryon Equine Hospital, was euthanized a day later after initially responding well to treatment. The loss of a horse in competition is never considered an acceptable occurrence to the thousands in attendance who own horses themselves.

For a town of 2,000 with two-lane country roads and a two-lane highway being the only access to the equestrian center, there was a considerable amount of nail-biting out of fear of miles-long gridlock as the games approached.

This, however, never occurred, the result of less-than-expected ticket sales and, at the time, an approaching Category 4 hurricane named Florence. In fact, had one not been aware of what was taking place up the road, one would certainly SPARTANBURG MAGAZINE | 11

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The Opening Ceremony took place on Sept. 11, 2018.

Competiors hold their country’s flags at the games.

not notice an uptick of traffic in the surrounding towns of Rutherfordton, Tryon, and Landrum.

Local feed store, The Hay Rack, enjoyed heavy sales of hay, grain, and supplies to competitors and met team members virtually every day from around the globe. Nearly every hotel and the inn was booked, and foreign tongues could be heard, especially during the second week, while dining in local restaurants.

Hosting the World Equestrian

Games can be a once-in-a-lifetime event, and some who attended declared it a bucket list wish to be ticked. To proclaim it a success takes a bit of perspective, particularly from those who have attended several in the past.

“Oh,” one German gentleman exclaimed to a group with whom he was sitting, “this is so much better than it was in Normandy (the host site of the 2014 games). So much better!”

ABOVE: Team USA reacts to the Opening Ceremony of the World Equestrian Games on Sept. 11.

The Para-Dressage Grade 1 competition of the FEI World Equestrian Games was held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center on Sept. 19.

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Quinn Barrett (The Nutcracker) rehearses for the Christmas ballet “The Nutcracker” at Twichell Auditorium in Spartanburg on Dec. 11, 2013.

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En Pointe STORY BY

DAN ARMONAITIS

Former male Ballet Spartanburg students take center stage The world of ballet is typically populated by a predominance of female dancers. In that respect, Ballet Spartanburg is no different than most other ballet organizations.

But take a look at the professional talent Ballet Spartanburg has produced among its male alumni, and it’s hard not to appreciate what its Center for Dance Education has to offer for young boys interested in dance.

“The success of our former students is an inspiration for younger dancers and a testament to the quality of the dance education we provide,” said Ballet Spartanburg artistic director Carlos Agudelo.

“For us at Ballet Spartanburg, we strive to teach the true classical ballet technique while instilling a love for the art form. We believe that discipline and character development are an integral part of dance education.”

Although the number of boys participating in Ballet Spartanburg classes has always been small compared to the female enrollment, a disproportionate amount of males have gone on to pursue it professionally as young adults.

Aided by the Center for Dance Education principal, Lona Gomez, who contributes plenty of expertise for all Ballet Spartanburg students, Agudelo is a big reason for the unparalleled success of its male alumni.

There’s something to be said for having a strong male presence to serve as a role model for young boys involved in ballet.

“I feel responsible for every student and I try to build a trust, not only as a teacher but as an individual, so I can instill a sense of discipline and build a strong character,” Agudelo said. “I constantly remind them that the ultimate goal is to perform for an audience. Everything we do in the classroom affects how they will perform on stage.

“My biggest joy is to see all these young men achieve their dreams of becoming professional ballet dancers.”

Spartanburg resident Ned Barrett, whose son Quinn is a Ballet Spartanburg alumnus now dancing professionally with the Cincinnati Ballet, has witnessed firsthand what Agudelo has been able to achieve through his work with boys.

Agudelo “is the best teacher Quinn has ever had in anything,” Barrett said. “He teaches those kids where they are, he demands excellence of them and he understands how you get to excellence as a process and not a leap.”

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McGee Maddox, 14, is photographed in a class at Ballet Spartanburg in 2001.

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come to try ballet and to allow (Ballet Spartanburg) to continue teaching all boys classes, which is something that’s really unique.”

Despite stigmas and stereotypes that society often attaches to boys interested in ballet, the reality is that the dance form is physically demanding. Many athletes, including professional football players, study ballet as cross-training.

“When you are training in ballet, you use your entire body,” Agudelo said. “You have to think in order to coordinate your muscles.

You have to listen to the music, and you have to express feelings and conceal the physical effort. In short, you are using multiple intelligence in addition to developing creativity and learning to work as a team.

“These are qualities inherent in our dance education which will serve our students well in any professional field they choose outside that of the professional world of dance.”

Of course, for boys who are interested in pursuing ballet as a career, Agudelo is there every step of the way.

“When my students get discouraged, I try to lift them up (and) I try to build their character,” he said. “I remind them of the performance opportunities we provide at Ballet Spartanburg and what it means to be a professional dancer. I do anything I can to help them achieve their dream.”

Here’s a glimpse at five former male Ballet Spartanburg students, who, along with other alumni such as Broadway choreographer Chase Brock and Oklahoma City Ballet corps de ballet member Dave Naquin, have gone on to pursue ballet professionally:

MCGEE MADDOX Maddox, 32, has recently turned his attention to a musical theater career, having previously spent eight seasons as a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada.

He grew up in Spartanburg and started taking classes at Ballet Spartanburg at a young age, prompted by his mother who noticed how much he liked to dance in their living room.

Maddox studied at the Houston Ballet Academy and, following his long run in Canada, he returned to the U.S. to pursue musical theater. He recently spent 15 months in a touring production of “An American in Paris.”

IN HIS WORDS: THE IMPACT BALLET SPARTANBURG HAS HAD ON HIS CAREER

“It was really a golden opportunity. (Spartanburg) is a small town but it has high-level dance training, and I was lucky that I didn’t have to ever leave growing up to get that. I

McGee Maddox teaches a class on March 25, 2014 at Ballet Spartanburg at the Chapman Cultural Center. At left is Analay Saiz, and at back right is Nichola Montt.

knew a lot of people who would drive in from North Carolina and other parts of (South Carolina) to study at Ballet Spartanburg because the formative training was that good.”

ADVICE FOR YOUNG BALLET SPARTANBURG STUDENTS

“If you take advantage of the opportunities that are around you, you can decide what you want to do with whatever career you take. I didn’t start going to a big professional (ballet) school until I was 16, but going to Ballet Spartanburg never deterred me from thinking I could make it anywhere.”

THE FUTURE

“I’ve been auditioning for some (musical theater) roles, but until everything is signed and sealed, I’m not at liberty to talk about those at this time. I’m just looking forward to my next performance opportunity.”

MICHAEL AGUDELO Agudelo, 27, is in his third season as a member of the San Antonio Ballet, which just promoted him to soloist.

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Will Robichaud, 23, is in his second season as a general company member of the Eugene (Oregon) Ballet after spending the 2016-17 season as a member of Ballet Spartanburg’s professional company.

as the son of its longtime artistic director, but didn’t get serious about taking classes until age 12. He was a trainee at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago before joining the Milwaukee Ballet as a second company member and later spending four years as a member of the Minnesota Ballet.

IN HIS WORDS: THE IMPACT BALLET SPARTANBURG HAS HAD ON HIS CAREER

“If it wasn’t for Ballet Spartanburg, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now. It just got me motivated and made me realize this is what I wanted to do. It lit my fire.”

ADVICE FOR YOUNG BALLET SPARTANBURG STUDENTS

“If it’s something you really want to do, don’t give up. Keep going for it and whatever you’re thinking about that you really want, eventually it’s going to become a reality if you stay focused.”

THE FUTURE

“I definitely want to stay in the field, if that’s possible. I’d like to become the ballet master in a company or maybe even the director of a company.

Maybe I’ll come back to Spartanburg and direct Ballet Spartanburg. My dad has to take a break sometime. He’s been doing that job a long time.”

WILL ROBICHAUD Robichaud, 23, is in his second season as a general company member of the Eugene (Oregon) Ballet

after spending the 2016-17 season as a member of Ballet Spartanburg’s professional company.

He grew up in Woodruff and started taking classes at Ballet Spartanburg at age six, inspired by seeing his older sister, Natalie, dance. Robichaud studied with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and performed in several of its productions.

IN HIS WORDS: THE IMPACT BALLET SPARTANBURG HAS HAD ON HIS CAREER

“I’d say Carlos and Lona probably had as much impact on me as anybody other than my parents. Not only did they help me get into ballet school when I was young, but when I got injured (as a young adult), I came home and the two of them helped me find another job with a bigger company. So, at two different points in my life, they’ve been there for me.”

ADVICE FOR YOUNG BALLET SPARTANBURG STUDENTS

“Listen to Carlos and Lona and do what they tell you even when it’s very frustrating or seems like the wrong thing at the time. Just trust in their guidance, because if you look at their track record and what they’ve done, they rarely lead anyone astray.”

THE FUTURE

“It’s hard to look too far ahead, but what I plan to do is to continue dancing for the next 10 years or so. Right now, I’m happy (with the Eugene Ballet), but I’d like to contribute to the ballet scene in the Carolinas at some point in my career.”

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“IT’S A PRETTY HUMBLE SCHOLARSHIP BUT WE HOPE IT CAN GROW. ULTIMATELY, WE WANT IT TO DO TWO THINGS: ENCOURAGE MORE BOYS TO COME TO TRY BALLET AND TO ALLOW (BALLET SPARTANBURG) TO CONTINUE TEACHING ALL BOYS CLASSES, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT’S REALLY UNIQUE.” NED BARRETT FATHER OF BALLET SPARTANBURG ALUMNUS QUINN BARRETT (PICTURED)

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Michael Agudelo is in his third season as a member of the San Antonio Ballet, which just promoted him to soloist.

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ETHAN KIMBRELL Kimbrell, 21, is in his second season as a second company member of the Cincinnati Ballet.

He grew up in Boiling Springs and started taking classes at Ballet Spartanburg at age five, inspired by seeing his older sister, Hannah, dance. Kimbrell studied with the Orlando (Florida) Ballet, becoming a member of its second company for two years before going to Cincinnati.

IN HIS WORDS: THE IMPACT BALLET SPARTANBURG HAS HAD ON HIS CAREER

“Being a smaller school, it allowed the students to have opportunities to perform some big roles in the productions while growing up, which led to us having some really good experiences along with a great technical base from Carlos and Lona. That background prepared us for what we were going to experience going into a professional company.”

ADVICE FOR YOUNG BALLET SPARTANBURG STUDENTS

“Whether you want to go professional

or it’s just something to do as a hobby after school, just enjoy it. Love it. Embrace it. Not only are you going to learn to be a dancer, but it teaches you such things as how to deal with people in everyday life.”

THE FUTURE

“Hopefully, in the years to come, I can get into a company with a full contract and make a career out of it, whether that’s in Cincinnati, in another state or even in another country.

I just want to be able to do this full-time and maybe even do some teaching after that.”

QUINN BARRETT Barrett, 20, is in his first season as a second company member of the Cincinnati Ballet.

He grew up in Spartanburg and started taking classes at Ballet Spartanburg at age five. He attended high school at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and college at the University of Cincinnati’s Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, which led to his becoming involved with the Cincinnati Ballet.

IN HIS WORDS: THE IMPACT BALLET SPARTANBURG HAS HAD ON HIS CAREER

“Carlos was a huge part of why I’m a dancer.

He had all-boys classes that I took from an early age. I didn’t take classes with girls in it until I was 9 or 10. He always impressed upon us the strength that we were going for and that (ballet) wasn’t just for girls, which is an important distinction to make. Especially at that age, people are going to tell you ballet is for girls, but evidently, it’s not. I mean, there’s a man teaching you, so that should tell you something.”

ADVICE FOR YOUNG BALLET SPARTANBURG STUDENTS

“Invest all your time in where you are, but be thinking about a next step. If you love (ballet), you can make it (professionally), especially as a boy because there’s a lot more of a demand for us. You can get scholarships for schools and stuff like that a lot easier if you’re a male ballet dancer.”

THE FUTURE

“This is the first time I’ve been involved with a company, and I just hope it takes me far.”

Ethan Kimbrell, 21, is in his second season as a second company member of the Cincinnati Ballet.

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RETRO KITSCH CHRISTMAS

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STORY BY STEVE WONG PHOTOS BY PATRICK SULLIVAN

The Transylvania Heritage Museum in Brevard, North Carolina becomes the Aluminum Tree & Aesthetically Challenged Seasonal Ornament Museum and Research Center, commonly known as ATOM, during the Christmas season.

L

ike that old tattered box full of cherished Christmas decorations in your attic, the Transylvania Heritage Museum in Brevard, North Carolina, is gracefully showing its age, but inside it is full of glitter and glamour from a time when aluminum Christmas trees were all the rage.

The three rustic galleries that normally display historical artifacts goes retro kitsch every holiday season, putting up more than two dozen vintage aluminum Christmas trees of various heights and profiles and decorating them in themes that are only limited by the imaginations of the volunteers who give their time and talents. An Elvis tree, a Marilyn Monroe tree, a Minecraft (video game) tree, and there’s even consideration for a boiled peanut tree.

Welcome to the Aluminum Tree &

Aesthetically Challenged Seasonal Ornament Museum and Research Center, commonly known as ATOM. Be sure to put your tongue firmly in cheek when you visit.

It is disputable that this is the only museum dedicated to aluminum Christmas trees, but as far as the museum officials are concerned, this was the first museum dedicated to aluminum Christmas trees, having started in 1991 when a concerned citizen rescued a discarded tree from a trash heap and presented it to local home decor professional Steven Jackson.

With an eye for the tacky and wacky, Jackson ran with it. He invited his friends to a party to help spruce up the little refugee from Tinsel Town with the "most aesthetically challenged" ornaments they could muster. That was the beginning of ATOM and many aluminum Christmas trees yet to come.

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By 1998, Jackson was the proud owner of eight trees and in need of a bigger venue for his collection. The Heritage Museum was more than happy to oblige this growing faux forest. After all, Transylvania protectively hugs its real and green trees, and promoting fake Christmas trees might in some small way save the life of a Fraser fir.

Without a doubt, ATOM, now in its eighth year, is the museum’s most popular and well-attended exhibit, ATOM Coordinator Pat Childress said.

Each year, between 400 and 500 people visit, coming from near and as far away as the West Coast and many foreign countries, which accounts for the 130 ZIP codes the staff has collected.

Its popularity has grown as major media outlets, such as The New York Times, Southern Living and Money magazines, and both NPR and the BBC have picked up on the museum’s efforts. Although people

come to see the trees, the museum does its best to add value to the experience by selling aluminum Christmas tree seeds (silver plastic beads), various handmade ornaments (both kitsch and truly authentic), and containers of melted snowmen (repackaged bottled water). For a truly memorable experience, visit when the Atomic Sisterhood is booked to sing traditional Christmas carols with reimagined lyrics.

“We at the museum enjoy entertaining the larger-than-usual crowd. We have lots of laughs decorating the trees and coming up with new ideas,” Childress said. “People begin to smile and reminisce as soon as they arrive. They love to share what the aluminum tree they remember from their family looked like, how it was decorated, etc. I think it is popular because it is a unique opportunity to walk down memory lane, and it is deliberately light-hearted and fun.”

The Aluminum Tree & Aesthetically Challenged Seasonal Ornament Museum and Research Center is the museum’s most popular and well-attended exhibit.

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The Aluminum Christmas tree decorations are only limited by the imaginations of the volunteers who give their time and talents.

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To get the most out of this exhibit, it helps to understand that aluminum Christmas trees first came onto the American scene in the mid-1950s, when fashion was greatly influenced by the Atomic Age, when anything metal and shiny was chic.

But like white go-go boots and Godzilla, the aluminum Christmas tree’s popularity began to wane and was finally considered passé in 1965 when a blockhead chose a real (although somewhat pitiful) tree over an aluminum one in the TV special "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

For many, this exhibit is all about the memory of their childhood.

Glenn Gordy, 54, of Spartanburg has an aluminum Christmas tree he rescued from his grandmother’s attic in 1986. He used it intermittently for a few years, but then in 2010, he totally embraced the hand-medown as his one and only Christmas tree.

“I do have an emotional attachment to this tree,” he said. “It takes me back to my early childhood, to the Christmas Eves that were spent at my Gan© s house.

I can clearly remember my first memory of this tree at her house. She had the color wheel hidden from view, and I thought the tree was magically changing colors from a golden yellow, to blue, then red, and then

To get the most out of this exhibit, it helps to understand that aluminum Christmas trees first came onto the American scene in the mid-1950s, when fashion was greatly influenced by the Atomic Age, when anything metal and shiny was chic.

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The three rustic galleries that normally display historical artifacts goes retro kitsch every holiday season, putting up more than two dozen vintage aluminum Christmas trees of various heights and profiles.

green all by itself. I was entranced by it. All my friends and family think it is so cool. I usually post a video of it on Facebook with the newer color wheel I purchased shining on it. My cleaning lady loves it. She says it just sparkles from the sun shining on it through the window, and that it just puts her in a good mood. I love using this tree for many reasons. First, it is quick and easy to put together and decorate — and you don© t use lights with it. Secondly, I think it is really cool and retro. I mean, how many people have an original aluminum Christmas tree that is over 50 years old? There are many young people today who have never seen one.”

The exhibit will run Saturday, Nov. 10, through Saturday, Dec. 22, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wednesdays through Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

There is no admission fee, but donations are encouraged and welcomed by the nonprofit agency. The museum is located at 189 W. Main St., Brevard.

For more information, call 828-884-2347 or visit TransylvaniaHeritage.org.

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Suzanne and Steve Leone enjoy decorating every inch of their home for Christmas.

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uzanne Leone starts thinking about Christmas early because she and her husband Steve want to pour as much joy as possible into the season.

They have a wonderful time doing it, but what the season is really about is showing love and the magic of giving at Christmas. They have been married for 46 years and have three children and five grandchildren.

One of their children lives in heaven. The Leone family lost their daughter Petra when she was 14 years old. Son Steve Jr. lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York, and daughter Stacia lives with her family in Georgia. Homeowners Suzanne and Steve are busy grandparents, carrying on long-distance relationships with their five young grandchildren.

And they manage it so well. When Christmas arrives, the Leones have been celebrating since a little before Thanksgiving.

Suzanne’s eyes light up when she explains that by the time Thanksgiving arrives, Christmas is in full swing at their house. The whole family gathers for Thanksgiving. Each grandchild is special in their own way, and Steve and Suzanne shower them with attention. At each place setting, china has been specifically chosen by each family member and comes with a wrapped ornament. The family members

The theme for this tree is food — red ornaments with a lot of candy ornaments.

unwrap their ornaments and take them home for their own trees.

The Leones start decorating at the front porch by hanging a wreath decorated with blue, gold and peacock colors. In her huge door planter on the wall, Suzanne loads up ornaments, fresh greenery from the garden, peacock ribbon and gold floral picks. Her pots at the front door are

done with white poinsettias accented with glittery curly willow. There are three lit reindeer in the front yard.

As you enter the house, the foyer sets the tone for Christmas throughout the entire house.

The console chest holds red candles, magnolia leaves, ornaments and greenery. It is decorated with Duncan Royale Santas, along with Possible Dream Santas. There is a big garland running up the stairs with a collection of white mice on each step.

The dining room is to the right and the main decoration is in the chandelier. It is woven with red berry strings and glittery silver bead vines.

Peeking out from every angle are Suzanne’s collection of 24-inch elves. Some are hanging upside down or appear to be tumbling out from their trapeze antics on the chandelier. And of course, Christmas lurks on every surface.

Since the Leones start the season early, they have to use artificial trees. Steve worked for years for Macy’s when the family lived in New York, and attending the Macy© s Christmas Parade was an annual tradition.

The living room holds the main Christmas tree. And this tree definitely has a garden theme.

All over the tree are birdhouses, birds, nests, feathers, beads, and owls that the Leones have been collecting for years. The tree is dripping in lights, and all around the bottom of the tree are

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The Leones start decorating at the front porch by hanging a wreath decorated with blue, gold and peacock colors. In the huge door planter on the wall, Suzanne Leone loads up ornaments, fresh greenery from the garden, peacock ribbon and gold floral picks.

The main decoration in the dining room is in the chandelier.

It is woven with red berry strings and glittery silver bead vines. Peaking out from every angle are Suzanne Leone’s collection of 24-inch elves. Some are hanging upside down or appear to be tumbling out from their trapeze antics on the chandelier.

wonderful birdhouses. Candles and greenery adorn the mantle.

Thanksgiving Day starts with the family watching the Macy© s parade on television. Steve Leone cooks breakfast, while everyone watches the parade in their PJs. For the Thanksgiving meal, everyone participates. The older children peel the potatoes, while the smaller ones stir the vegetables and add butter before the pot goes on the stove. There is a lot of lettuce ripping going on, with the younger children on stools for height and the older ones standing around the island helping. Then they all set the table.

After Thanksgiving dinner, the fun really begins as the children decorate the kid© s tree in the keeping room and kitchen. It© s a white tree with a snowman topper on it.

Suzanne has already decorated the mantle with her collection of tall nutcrackers. She even has giant pieces of candy in the window dormers in the keeping room. Suzanne has taught each child to be selective about where to put an ornament. The theme for this tree is food — red ornaments with a lot of candy ornaments.

The final touch is in the kitchen, and it is fully decorated also. There is a large display of singing carolers, snowmen and gingerbread houses.

Over the course of the Thanksgiving weekend, the children make their own gingerbread houses from the huge array of candy that Suzanne lays out.

They finish decorating when they hang giant snowflakes on the back porch© s screened walls.

Then they add a large table tree in the corner.

Their family means a lot to them, especially

The living room holds the main Christmas tree. All over the tree are birdhouses, birds, nests, feathers, beads, and owls that the Leones have been collecting for years. The tree is dripping in lights, and all around the bottom of the tree are birdhouses.

Suzanne Leone decorates her mantle with a collection of tall nutcrackers.

having lost a member of it. The Leones show their love for each other, especially during the holidays. On Thanksgiving morning they all give each other gobble-gobble kisses.

Another Leone tradition occurs at Christmas.

They sing for their gifts. When they select a gift to open, they start singing a Christmas carol, then everyone joins in. Everyone does this — they only sing one verse of each song — and

no repeats are allowed. This is a tradition that Suzanne grew up with as a child. It means a lot to be able to pass it down to her own family.

The Leone family is a close-knit one, and even though their daughter Petra is in heaven, she is still present in spirit with them. The five grandchildren know Nana and Pop are there for them.

Most of the joy at Christmas is making all these memories together as a family.

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The Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine is one of the many games at the Appalachian Pinball Museum located in downtown Hendersonville.

W l l i z a a b r ds n i P FLIPPERS CLICKING, BUMPERS RINGING AT APPALACHIAN PINBALL MUSEUM STORY BY BETH DE BONA PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY

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T.C. DiBella, right, and business partner John French opened the Asheville Pinball Museum in the historic Battery Park Hotel in downtown Asheville.

They opened the Appalachian Pinball Museum in downtown Hendersonville in November 2017, in the old Skyland Hotel.

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museum is a unique place. Typically, you can expect hushed, hallowed halls that offer an atmosphere of reverence and learning. At the Appalachian Pinball Museum, however, with its hundreds of relentlessly flashing lights and a near-cacophony of electronic music — flippers clicking and bumpers ringing out — there’s a distinct challenge to those expectations.

“We are a museum, though people will stop and say we are just an arcade,” museum co-owner T.C. DiBella said. “Now, if we stopped all the machines and put up velvet ropes, would that make it more of a museum?”

“No,” he added — which is the usual, definitive answer.

“There’s art, history, the mechanics here, as well as the nostalgia factor — the smell and the sounds take everyone back.”

Five years ago, DiBella and his business partner John French opened the doors to their first venture, the Asheville Pinball Museum, in the historic Battery Park Hotel in downtown Asheville. They opened the Appalachian Pinball Museum in downtown Hendersonville in November 2017 in the old Skyland Hotel. The public is free to look around as much as desired, but to play, patrons pay a flat fee for unlimited gaming during opening hours.

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The two locations boast more than 100 pinball machines. ThereŠ s about 36 in Hendersonville and 40 in Asheville, and then more than two dozen vintage video games in the collection, including such classics as Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga and Tetris.

The one touch that feels museum-like are the placards placed on each machine, with information on the manufacturer, date produced and production numbers. For example, a Cirqus Voltaire pinball machine that was a museum game of the day in June was produced by Bally in 1997, with 2,074 total machines produced.

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Co-owner T.C. DiBella plays a Twilight Zone pinball machine at the Appalachian Pinball Museum, in downtown Hendersonville.

slogan, if any (“Electrifying Excitement”).

“We have plenty of machines from the © 70s, © 80s and © 90s, and a lot of newer machines, as well as a lot of remakes,” DiBella said. Complexity has changed over the decades related to technological advances, even with relatively recent games, like a Twilight Zone game from the early 1990s, which has five computer boards, while a new machine has just one, according to French.

Lining one wall, eight pinball machines from the 1970s include a Harlem Globetrotters game, which unlike others from its era, plays original music: “Sweet Georgia Brown.” On another wall, machines date from before 1977, when solid-state technology wiped away the old electromagnetic games, with tangles of wiring lining the guts of the machines.

“In both places, you can come in and look for free, but we tell people, ‘Don’t press any buttons,’” DiBella said.

Soon after the first year of business, the Asheville location has had a daily waiting list; French and DiBella expect the same to

happen in Hendersonville.

Typically, there are 30 to 50 people in line as the Hendersonville doors open at 2 p.m.

At any one time, there can only be as many players as there are games available, so waiting lists form quickly.

Before opening the Hendersonville location, French and DiBella spent a couple of months acquiring machines. Typically, they’d search Craigslist, but now they say sellers are the ones making the pitches.

Since they’ve garnered status as preservers of vintage games, some have even donated or sold machines at low prices, French said.

Recently, they received a donation of a jukebox, though not in working order.

Both French and DiBella, who is a veteran middle school science teacher, were big fans of pinball and video games long before the idea to open a museum came to mind.

It all started when the two met through an ad French placed in 2012 selling a pinball machine; DiBella inquired about the $500 game and bought it. French had told him to give him a call if anything broke on it, as he’d fix it.

French was then working in robotics and automation. He said he was often hired to fix pinball machines, traveling to pick up the machine and then doing the repair work in a hotel room. French learned his skills early, as his father had an electronics business.

“At a very young age, I had a very good understanding of electronics,” he said.

French tells the story of when he was 8 or 9 years old, when he offered his expertise to the owner of an arcade in the Colorado mountain town they lived in.

“I told him, ‘I have a soldering iron in my backpack,’ and could start right away," he said. "By the end of the week, I had the keys to the place.”

So, when DiBella later asked French to fix an issue with the 1976 vintage Buccaneer he’d bought from him, French was good on his promise. Around that same time, DiBella hosted a movie night at his home, to which he invited French and French’s wife. Many of the guests at the party were spending time playing pinball in the DiBella family basement, DiBella recalled.

“The next day someone sent me a link to

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ABOVE: KISS is a classic pinball machine at the Appalachian Pinball Museum.

TOP: Hundreds of relentlessly flashing lights and a near-cacophony of electronic music — flippers clicking and bumpers ringing out is what you’ll find when you visit the Appalachian Pinball Museum in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

RIGHT: Karina Lubian, 18, right, and her nephew Adrian Barbosa, 7, play some of the vintage pinball games at the museum.

the Seattle Pinball Museum and a light bulb went off,” he said. “I asked my wife — I did it the right way — and she mentioned that we had no money to open a museum.”

DiBella sold a classic car that he owned to help raise the seed money for the museum.

“From the beginning, none of (the machines) worked,” DiBella said, adding that many of those first machines were bought on the cheap. “But then it took off from there, and the rest is history.”

Many of the machines in the museum are iconic, according to DiBella, particularly the licensed models. The Hulk, based on the green, shirt-busting Marvel Comics hero, was the first superhero pinball machine, dating to 1979. A KISS machine dating to 1978 is also a rarity — in working condition, that is.

“There were 15,000 to 18,000 made,"

DiBella said. "These were in every arcade at the time."

A Captain Fantastic and a Wizard, both modeled after the movie “Tommy” — The Who’s 1975 paean to pinball culture — stand side by side in the museum. DiBella points out the small portrait of Adolf Hitler on the back glass of the Captain Fantastic machine; both machines have artwork by Dave Christensen. French noted that DiBella acquired the machine from a horse barn, where the owner had been storing it.

Maintenance is an ongoing task for French; many of the early machines were meant to last only three to five years in a busy arcade. Both museum locations are closed one day per week solely to perform maintenance — hours are also limited for that reason, French said.

“This is why a lot of places don’t make it,” he said.

The pair gets people asking why they don’t make pinball machines like these today, and the major reason is the expense.

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“WE ARE A MUSEUM, THOUGH PEOPLE WILL STOP AND SAY WE ARE JUST AN ARCADE. NOW, IF WE STOPPED ALL THE MACHINES AND PUT UP VELVET ROPES, WOULD THAT MAKE IT MORE OF A MUSEUM? NO. THERE’S ART, HISTORY, THE MECHANICS HERE, AS WELL AS THE NOSTALGIA FACTOR — THE SMELL AND THE SOUNDS TAKE EVERYONE BACK.” T.C. DIBELLA MUSEUM CO-OWNER

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Eli Warnock, 9, plays a pinball machine at the museum.

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That said, one popular electromagnetic game, Fireball, was remade as a solid-state machine.

That game is part of the collection at the Asheville location; an electromagnetic version of Fireball is in Hendersonville.

All-new games are made occasionally, like the Game of Thrones pinball machine from 2011.

French and DiBella groan when they think of “barcades” — businesses serving liquor that offer a smattering of pinball and other arcade games.

The staff at the Appalachian Pinball Museum is trained to nose out a particular smell that will drift out of the machines if wiring catches on fire. It’s basically a melting plastic smell, French said. If it occurs, the game is turned off and French will add the machine to his fix-it roster.

The oldest machine in Hendersonville is a 1947 “Marjorie,” a flipper-less game from famed manufacturer Gottlieb that originally ran on nickels.

Only 1,200 were ever produced.

“When we first got it, we put nickels on top for players to use,” DiBella said. Now, the antique machine is one of the few that are for display only, like a 1937 Arlington pinball machine in the Asheville location.

While players can roam at will, patrons are encouraged to be mindful that the machines need a fair amount of TLC. DiBella and French review the house rules to crowds gathered at opening time.

“No drinks on machines, and don’t press the buttons too much,” DiBella said. Often, younger patrons get impatient because old machines don’t load immediately. “We go over how to use them for anyone under 25,” he adds.

French and DiBella are proud to say their collection is almost complete between the two museum locations, as far as what games were popular.

They’d like to find a Spy Hunter, a machine produced by Bally in 1984.

Of course, the search for machines will continue, as replacements and parts are needed, French said.

The concentration of vintage pinball and video games in the mountain region is pretty extraordinary, they said.

“There are maybe a dozen (museums) nationwide and here there are two within a short distance of each other," Di Bella said.

The Appalachian Pinball Museum is located at 538 N. Main St. in Hendersonville, N.C. To learn more, call 828-702-9277.

Annabel Warnock, 6, plays a pinball machine at the museum.

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‘Coolest Game In Town’ Palmetto Curling Club grows in popularity following Winter Olympics

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STORY BY JOEL FITZPATRICK + PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ

typical Tuesday night at the Pavilion will tell you everything you need to know about the Palmetto Curling Club.

Its members take to the ice at 7 p.m and again at 9. The group includes both men and women of all ages. Some wear shorts. Others wear pants that you would more likely see on a golf course on Sunday. But all of them have one thing in common. They are having a blast playing a sport that has enjoyed a huge spike in interest since the United States men’s team won gold at the Winter Olympics.

“We had around 40 members when we first started,” said Jillene Van Hoy, the club’s vice president. “It’s wavered between 20 and 40 since, but with the Gold medalist Jamie Korab of Canada demonstrates a curling technique on Feb. 20 at the Palmetto Curling Club in Taylors.

men winning gold in these last Olympics we are up around 90 members. Anytime it is an Olympic year, curling clubs across the country see a boost.”

It’s only fitting that the Olympics provided a boost in interest for the club, as it was the same reason it formed in the first place.

“As the story goes, a man by the name of Beau Welling was watching the Olympics. He thought it was interesting and liked it, and by the end of the Olympics he was hooked,” Van Hoy said. “He decided to go to a national tournament.

They were surprised a guy from South Carolina wanted to come to watch, but they brought him into the fold. Recently, he was just named the board director of the World Curling Federation.”

ABOVE: In curling, players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a targeted area.

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Deborah York was one of more than 50 people to attend the curling demonstration on Feb. 20 which was hosted by the Palmetto Curling Club in Taylors.

Welling’s interest allowed the club to be formed in 2010 and has since given those in the Upstate and surrounding areas the opportunity to learn and enjoy the sport.

“We have groups that come from Ninety Six, Asheville and Hendersonville,” Van Hoy said. “Those are folks who have curled before, have family who have curled or are just interested in it, and this is their closest option.”

“Curlers are a little rabid about the sport,” said club president Alison Roark. “It’s worth it to them.”

To someone unfamiliar with the sport, rules and scoring may be difficult to understand. But the confusion doesn’t last long, and the club has set the league up where everyone has a chance to learn and enjoy the game at their own pace.

“A first-time curler may have trouble keeping up with the scoring,” Van Hoy said. “But once you get the hang of it, you totally get it. It’s kind of like scoring baseball, but you have to wait until the end to see where all the rocks slide to add up the score. In baseball, you just add to the score as you go along.

“We have pretty much an open league here. If someone is interested, they sign up. We put together

teams, mixing people who have been curling a long time with people who just started. Everyone gets a chance to figure it out a little better. The veterans can work with the newbies, bringing everybody up.

We have some really good players here, and they do a great job of bringing everyone else up.”

Making it even easier for someone who hasn’t played the sport before is that they don’t have to spend a lot of money buying equipment. The club provides that.

“We own the brooms (which are used to sweep the ice); stones (which are pushed across the ice); sliders (which are worn over shoes to help competitors to push off); stabilizers and grippers,” Roark said. “We also own sticks so people in wheelchairs can curl.”

What the club doesn’t own is its own facility.

Because they only have use of the ice at the Pavilion one night a week, options are limited as far as what leagues can be offered. Currently, there are 18 teams of four competing. The league is male-dominated, but the club is in the process of raising funds to eventually build its own facility. Doing so would be a game changer on several levels.

“Once we are in a position where we don’t have

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Alison Roark, center, instructing at a Palmetto Curling Club open house.

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Nicole Plante, center, instructs at an open house for the Palmetto Curling Club. PALMETTO CURLING CLUB PHOTO.

any restraints, the goal is to grow and have women’s leagues, men’s leagues, junior leagues, and para leagues,” Roark said. “We’ve also looked at the idea of a veteran’s league and special needs leagues. We could do anything we want once we had more time.”

If interest in the sport continues to grow and more younger people become interested, the club would love to see high school games at its facility.

“Our goal is to have a collegiate league,” Roark said. “I don’t know if we will ever have enough traction for a high school league because that would require enough kids at each school to do this. It may take a while to build. But even if it was two schools that wanted to play each other each week, we would be game for that.”

The club has two seasons each year. The fall season begins in September and lasts through December, while the fall league is from January until May. The cost for a membership is $125 for an entire year and $30 each week to pay for the ice time. The club will waive the $125 for firsttime players, however.

“If people are interested, they are more than welcome to come out and watch on Tuesday evenings,” Van Hoy said. “We like to get them involved somehow, giving them a little taste of what curling is all about.

“It’s the coolest game in town.”

For more information on the club, or to get involved in the fundraising effort for the new facility, visit palmettocurling.com.

“We have pretty much an open league here. If someone is interested, they sign up. We put together teams, mixing people who have been curling a long time with people who just started. Everyone gets a chance to figure it out a little better. The veterans can work with the newbies, bringing everybody up. We have some really good players here, and they do a great job of bringing everyone else up.”

The Palmetto Curling Club held a demonstration on Feb. 20 at The Pavilion in Taylors.

Jillene Van Hoy The Palmetto Curling Club vice president

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TRYON THEATRE Iconic movie house celebrates 80th anniversary in December

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STORY BY BETH DE BONA | PHOTOS BY ALEX HICKS JR.

he house was packed for three nights in a row as audiences followed the Yellow Brick Road to the Land of Oz for the official reopening of the

beloved Tryon Theatre, which recently received a muchneeded overhaul.The sold-out screenings of the iconic 1937 film in early August followed a four-month renovation spearheaded by owners Scott and Gayle Lane. The undertaking has brought the Depression-era cinema solidly into the 21st century, all without sacrificing the building’s original integrity.”We opened the theater with the usual ‘leap of faith’ trepidation…but the response was overwhelming,” said Scott Lane, who received a rush of compliments and gratitude from patrons following the theater’s reopening. Lane said they had to add an additional screening of “The Wizard of Oz” to “avoid disappointing anyone.”Dean Trakas, the architect for the project, believes the historic building has been transformed into a state-of-the-art theater that will serve Tryon well into the 21st century.”I think this is a feather in Tryon’s cap because it’s not just a movie theater it’s a true movie palace that hearkens back to the glory days of cinema and tries to recrerecre ate the spirit,” Trakas said.

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NEW AND IMPROVED Gone are the sagging ceiling, tiny bathrooms, and drafty auditorium. Improved acoustics and new, comfortable seating are way beyond what audiences would have expected when the cinema was originally built. The renovation is well-timed—it coincides with the theater’s 80th anniversary in December.

“For 80 years the Tryon Theatre has been a place for people to come and relax, see a great

movie and enjoy themselves,” Scott Lane said.

“Going to the movies is so much a part of a community’s social traditions and one of the few opportunities we have to share experiences with our neighbors.”

The renovation, which was launched in April, has been a careful balance of adding modern convenience and technology without ignoring the building’s history or the significance of its history with natives and longtime residents in Tryon.

ABOVE: Gayle and Scott Lane, owners of the Tryon Theatre, pose for a photo in August before the movie house reopened to the public.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Consideration for movie-goers is apparent throughout the seating areas: risers have been altered in one area at the back of the downstairs lounge to change the sightlines, and one of the rows in the balcony has been eliminated.

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“Sitting in a room full of strangers and friends sharing stories is magical and transformative and reinforces the sense of community,” added Lane.

“We wanted to make certain another generation had a chance to have that experience - a small town movie theater.”

The renovation was performed to make for better movie viewing altogether, acoustically and comfort-wise. Downstairs, new rocking seats sport plush lumbar support. New carpets in the rich jewel tones of an art deco palette appropriate for the period, with teal, dark blue, amber and cranberry colors repeated in various areas of the building.

“They’ve embraced the eccentric personality of the theater,” said Nick Wilson, theater manager. “It’s a very unique town, it’s a very unique theater.”

The sound system has been completely revamped, with new amplifiers and speakers, as well as a sound system for the hearing impaired.

Speakers have been installed in the balcony area, where there were previously none.

“We bought the theater in January of 2017

and swore to ourselves that we’d just keep our hands in our pockets and listen,” said Scott Lane.

“We’ve done plenty of renovations, but we knew nothing about running a movie theater. It took us a year of popping popcorn and vacuuming under seats before we felt comfortable making any changes.”

The front entrance and ticket booth at the recently renovated Tryon Theatre in downtown Tryon, North Carolina.

JOSE FRANCO PHOTO

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To start, the Lanes went to conferences to learn about the industry and scoped out what friends and patrons wanted for the theater, along with considering for themselves what they would want.

“We wanted the building to be different from everyday life and from the other shops on the street,” Scott Lane said. “We wanted it to stand out and be fun and inviting and maybe reference the essence of those earlier designs.”

For the new look, the Lanes envisioned the design to reflect the excitement of going to the movies. The façade sports new colorful striping in graceful art deco curves that reach from the sidewalk to the sky.

Famed architect Erle Stillwell designed Tryon Theatre, which opened as a single-story building in 1932; Stillwell was also the architect for the Don Gibson Theatre in Shelby and the Co-Ed Cinema in Brevard, among others in the region.

After the Tryon Theatre burned in the late 1930s, Stillwell’s design for an intricate art deco façade was never incorporated due to a lack of money, and the façade was updated to a simpler design—the look that remains today.

“We’ve tried to pay some homage to what Stillwell originally intended,” said project architect Julie McIntyre of Brady/Trakas Architects.

The bones of Stillwell’s design in the theater interior remains basically the same, though the tiny downstairs bathrooms have been expanded to be accessible using unused space at the sides of the concession stand. In fact, the entire downstairs area is now ADA compliant, all without taking away the original swinging entrance doors that are set with half-moon windows.

“One of the main goals was to make the whole lower floor ADA compliant,” Trakas said.

With only 45 days to do the “nuts and bolts” work, the engineering team worked in tandem with construction crews. “It was an amazing thing to see all these tradesmen working at the same time and getting along,” Trakas said.

The exterior and marquee of the newly renovated Tryon Theatre in downtown Tryon, North Carolina. JOSE FRANCO PHOTO

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The bones of famed architect Erle Stillwell’s design in the theater interior remains basically the same, though the tiny downstairs bathrooms have been expanded to be accessible using unused space at the sides of the concession stand. The renovation is the third historic building the Lanes have taken on in Tryon—they previously renovated the St. Luke’s Plaza and the Missildine building, both just north of the cinema on Trade Street.

The design overhaul has embraced details. Basketweave floor tiles in bathrooms and a fun filmstrip mirror in the men’s room are a couple of the new touches in the theater’s updated bathrooms. New wall sconces bought on Etsy adorn the auditorium. “A lot of time was spent on finish selections,” said Trakas about choices in tile, paint colors and fixtures.

Some things won’t be changing: the equipment in the projectionist’s booth had already been updated for changes in technology. Gayle Lane noted that the protective sliding doors on all the windows and openings in the booth still remain, reminders of the time film was highly flammable, and fire was of great concern.

Also, a fridge in the projectionist’s booth will remain; the fridge had been stocked full of beer sometime starting in the 1960s or 70s, for sales to patrons, ensuring easy access to anyone over 21 seated in the balcony.

“It’s one of the great, quirky things that fits Tryon to a T,” said Trakas of the beer fridge. Wilson insists that balcony seats boast the best view in the house—seats once reserved—before the days of the Civil Rights movement, for black patrons only.

The club-like atmosphere of the balcony will remain, with plush sofas and seats with movable armrests that create a bench-like seat, for snuggling close with family, or a special date, Wilson said.

Consideration for movie-goers is apparent throughout the seating areas: risers have been altered in one area at

A Coming Soon poster outside the newly renovated Tryon Theatre in Tryon, North Carolina. JOSE FRANCO PHOTO

the back of the downstairs lounge to change the sightlines, and one of the rows in the balcony has been eliminated. “There’s not a bad seat in the house,” Wilson said. “Each seat will have its own special vibe.”

The renovation is the third historic building the Lanes have taken on in Tryon—they previously renovated the St. Luke’s Plaza and the Missildine building, both just north of the cinema on Trade Street.

“We’re doing this project out of love…while we had done the others out of necessity,” said Gayle Lane. After personally running the much-loved but admittedly decrepit theater for about

a year, the couple decided to bite the bullet and take on the needed work.

Of first priority was the ceiling, which was falling in, and the building’s heating and cooling. A hole in the theater floor had caused an uncomfortable winter draft for patrons in recent years; the floor’s repair and a new HVAC system will ensure patrons are comfortable.

Seating capacity, at 250, has been reduced by 30 seats since before the renovation to accommodate the new design. Just as the renovation project got underway, patrons at a screening of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” were welcome to start demolition with smashing out whole seat rows, Wilson said.

As a nod to the theater’s past, lobby walls have framed telegrams dating from the 1930s from the likes of Clark Gable and David Niven—these were found stuffed in a window to ward off drafts, Wilson said.

The movie screen has been replaced— and moved forward toward the audience. The curved convex screen looks like it’s floating, according to Trakas. The two levels to the stage, for screen and performance, can still accommodate bands, and a room for the services that Grace Church has been offering at the theater in past years.

“It’s a very important venue for many purposes throughout the year,” Trakas said. “We’ve been really pleased with all the work that’s been done.”

Tryon Theatre is located at 45 S. Trade St. in Tryon, N.C. To learn more, visit tryontheatre.com.

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M A D E I N S PA R TA N B U R G

Marshall Tucker Band P E R F O R M S U P STAT E S H OW

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STORY BY DAN ARMONAITIS PHOTOS BY GWINN DAVIS

D

oug Gray still considers Spartanburg home but he doesn’t spend nearly as much time here as he once did.

When he isn’t traveling with the Marshall Tucker Band, the legendary Southern rock group that he co-founded in 1972, he’ll most often be found at his second home in Myrtle Beach.

The Marshall Tucker Band performed on Aug. 30 on the outdoor TD Stage at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts in Greenville.

The band’s unique sound is, of course, most easily categorized as Southern rock, but it also features elements of classic country, jazz, and vintage R&B. Gray, in particular, had a soulful way of singing on the Marshall Tucker Band’s earliest albums from the 1970s.

These days, Gray is the only original member of the group that he started with fellow Spartanburg natives Tommy Caldwell, Toy Caldwell, Jerry Eubanks, George McCorkle, and Paul T. Riddle. Tommy Caldwell died in a tragic automobile crash in 1980 while Toy Caldwell and McCorkle died in 1993 and 2007, respectively.

Doug Gray, right, an original member of The Marshall Tucker Band, performed with the group on the TD Stage of the Peace Center for the Performing Arts in Greenville on Aug. 30.

OPPOSITE PAGE: The original lineup for the Marshall Tucker Band, which formed in Spartanburg in 1972. [PROVIDED]

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“This music is continual,” Gray said. “It’s been 46 years (since the band started), so you’ll get different age groups coming to see us. You’ll see people bringing their grandkids to a show. It’s just turned into this unbelievable thing that I never would have expected.”

The Marshall Tucker Band has made multiple performances on the Grand Ole Opry in recent years and, in the past few months, has shared the stage with such fellow Southern rock icons as the Charlie Daniels Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Its catalog of classic songs includes “Can’t You See,” “Take the Highway,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “Searchin’ for a Rainbow” and “Heard it in a Love Song.”

“We started out this band not knowing if we would ever touch one person,” Gray said. “But some of these songs have related to people of multiple generations. I mean, we’re just a part of their lives. I’ve got more pictures of cats and dogs named Marshall Tucker than you’ve ever seen up here on my wall.”

In addition to Gray, the current Marshall Tucker Band lineup includes highly-skilled instrumentalists Tony Black,

“It’s been 46 years (since the band started), so you’ll get different age groups coming to see us.

You’ll see people bringing their grandkids to a show. It’s just turned into this unbelievable thing that I never would have expected.”

— DOUG GRAY

B.B. Borden, Marcus James Henderson, Chris Hicks, and Rick Willis.

“Studio musicians can’t do what these guys can,” Gray said. “Well, they can, but they don’t get the feeling. These guys I have, some of them have been with me over 25 years, and they want to be in a band that has served the public and they don’t want to let down the original band.”

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Doug Gray, right, an original member of The Marshall Tucker Band, performed with the group on the TD Stage of the Peace Center for the Performing Arts in Greenville on Aug. 30.

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SCENE

Spartanburg celebrates community with fundraisers and social events

Kentucky Derby Party PHOTOS BY JOHN BYRUM The AC Hotel hosted a Kentucky Derby Party on May 5 with a Fancy Hat contest, and some fun cocktails – a twist on the Mint Julep, made with Motte & Sons Kate’s Courage; Lucky Lemonade (spiked); and a “Cinco de Derby” that mixes the Derby with Cinco de Mayo. And there’s a “Magnum Moon Pie Parfait,” named in honor of No. 1 ranked Magnum Moon.

The AC Hotel hosted a Kentucky Derby Party on May 5 with a Fancy Hat contest, and some fun cocktails.

Aimee and Kevin Cheek.

Kristin Markel.

Zach Kerley and Loren Calvin.

Amy Renna.

Mike and Jennifer Rivera.

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Christine and Robert Vogt.

Barry and Kimberly Holland.

Christine Vogt, Aimee Cheek, and Jordan Trolinger.

Laura Allen and Roger Sullivan.

Elton Thomas and Renee Miller.

Sisters Lauren Herring and Jordan Trolinger.

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Fall Festival PHOTOS BY WENDY SHOCKLEY MCCARTY Members of St. James United Methodist Church in Spartanburg made apple pies for their annual Fall Festival which took place on Sept. 8.

Lou Ferringer mixed dough for the apple pie crusts.

Nancy Bishop hands Janet Scott a completed apple pie.

Members of St. James United Methodist Church in Spartanburg peel and slice apples.

Dough is shaped into a pie crust.

Mignon Cole rolls dough for apple pies.

Members of St. James United Methodist Church divide up duties during an apple pie making session. Some volunteers peel apples. Some volunteers work on the pie crusts while others work on the apple pie filling.

Sliced apples covered in sugar and cinnamon are poured into a pie crust.

A completed apple pie is ready to be popped into the oven.

Members of St. James United Methodist Church roll out pie crusts and fill up crusts with sliced apples mixed with sugar and cinnamon.

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World Equestrian Games PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ The World Equestrian Games held a meet and greet at the Landrum Depot on Sept. 7.

Alice Dobbs and Tara Boyce.

Katie Gordon and Shauna Williams.

Carla Langley and Sydney Langley.

The World Equestrian Games held a meet and greet at the Landrum Depot on Sept. 7.

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Linda Stenzel and Ivette Drumgool.

Sandra Simpson and Allie Wright.

Celine Lehner and Noreen Cothran.

Nick Page and Susan Reid.

Emma Brunell and Magda Brunell.

Richard Pierce and Anne Pierce.

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Wings of Hope PHOTOS BY JOHN BYRUM Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System hosted its annual ‘Wings of Hope’ event for cancer survivors with a butterfly release on Aug. 22 at the Bearden-Josey Center for Breast Health Garden.

Louise Johnson, Betty Montgomery, Lisa Miller, Carole Davis and Ann Hunt.

Peter Moore and Mary Ada Poole.

Kensey Boyd holds a butterfly for Gretta Boyd to get a closer look.

Spartanburg Regional Hospital System held its annual Wings of Hope event with a butterfly release.

Andy Faltuk.

Bobby Brown and Piper Boyd.

Amanda, Lilly and Bobby Brown.

Chris Crowley, Grayson Dotson and Mary Hope Rhodes release a container of butterflies.

Janice Cheeks sings a song.

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Hangar B for Heart PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY The Spartanburg Regional Foundation hosted Hangar B for Heart on Sept. 27 at the Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport. The event featured music by Party on the Moon and a buffet presented

by FR8yard and Willy Taco to raise money to support heart health in Spartanburg.

Keith and Cindy Kelly.

Natalie Barry, Sydney McNairy, Shayna Parker, and Pam McNairy.

Shannon Kemp and Emily Cribb.

Lisa Coggins, Lisa Hart, Mark and Karen Massara.

Brian and Hollie Kratzer.

Joy Perko and Ron Grant dance at the Hangar B Ball.

Kim Mielke, Rhonda Wright, and Kendra Graham.

Scott and Terri Bailey.

Stephanie and Mark Crisp.

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Logan Fultz and Aly Kratzer.

The Spartanburg Regional Foundation held the 2018 Hangar B Ball at the Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport on Sept. 27. The annual fundraiser for heart health featured a buffet from local restaurants Willy Taco and FR8yard, and music and dance entertainment with the band Party on the Moon.

Kevin Jefferies.

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Prep Football Art Showcase PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY The Chapman Cultural Center partnered with the Herald-Journal on an art show, held in the Chapman Cultural Center lobby, on Aug. 15.

The show coincided with the release of the Herald-Journal's high school football preview edition, which featured the work of 15 artists, one from each high school in the Herald-Journal’s coverage area. The artists, who were selected by the schools, produced original works featuring a player from their school.

Madeline Farmer, a senior at Landrum High School, shows digital art she created.

The Chapman Cultural Center partnered with the Herald-Journal on an art show, held in the Chapman Cultural Center lobby on Aug. 15. The show coincided with the release of this year’s high school football preview edition, which featured the work of 15 artists, one from each high school in the Herald-Journal’s coverage area.

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Mackenzie Adams, a senior at Greer High School, with her artwork.

Alexis Reinhardt, right, a student at Oakbrook Preparatory School, with her artwork of player Jonathan McNeely, left.

Megan Chance, a student at Broome High School, with her artwork.

The Chapman Cultural Center partnered with the Herald-Journal on an art show, held in the Chapman Cultural Center lobby on Aug. 15.

Will Mathis, a senior at Spartanburg Christian Academy, with his artwork.

Brandon Adams, a student at Chapman High School, with his artwork.

Jamal Wallington, a senior at Union County High School, with his artwork.

The Chapman Cultural Center partnered with the Herald-Journal on an art show, held in the Chapman Cultural Center lobby on Aug. 15.

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SCENE

Pamela Meadows, Beth Cutshall, Randy Meadows.

Hope Blooms for Hospice SPARTANBURG REGIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM PHOTOS Each spring, Spartanburg Regional Foundation hosts Hope Blooms for Hospice. This special event honors the work of Spartanburg Regional Hospice caregivers while providing perspectives on end-of-life care. The luncheon also raises money for an important cause: Spartanburg Regional Foundation’s Hospice Special Needs Fund. This fund sustains the Thanksgiving and Easter meals program for patients and their families and covers a wide variety of basic expenses for patients in need. The fund also supports bereavement programs, including services of remembrance and Christopher’s Camp, a program for children who are coping with the loss of a loved one. This year's luncheon was held on April 26 at the Spartanburg Marriott.

Dan Maultsby, Bill Fitch.

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SCENE

Elizabeth Fletcher, Lizzie Staggs.

Anne Porcher Perrin, Anne Flynn.

Pat Young, Lizzie Staggs, Inez Golden, Mary Mills.

Mary Hope Rhodes, Phil Phillips.

Melissa France, Kristy Caradori

Carole Davis, Lynne Weed.

Brenda James, Marsha Gibbs, Kristy Caradori.

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Children’s Cancer Partners PHOTOS BY GWINN DAVIS Children's Cancer Partners of the Carolinas hosted Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Rick Bragg and best-selling novelist Cassandra King Conroy at a special fundraiser at Sarah and George Todd's home on Feb. 1.

Claudia Albergotti, Kathie Bennett and Ruth Cate.

Blake Stafford-Gomez, AnnLouise Granger, Carla Fowler and Kim Melick.

Linda Bowker, Kathryn Mitchell and Sandra Stanley.

Brooks Gaylord, Ryan Gaylord, Liz Graffeo and Kevin Graffeo.

Bill and Bet Hamilton and Tom Russell.

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Horsing with Halter PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ The Horsing With Halter event was held at the new covered Halter Arena on Aug. 25. The event included a silent auction, live music and barbecue.

Elizabeth Padgett and Wade Johnson.

The Horsing With Halter event was held at the new covered Halter Arena on Aug. 25. The event included a silent auction, live music and barbecue.

Betsy Switzer and Susan Gray.

Joy Deer and Kim Pettit.

Carole Wofford and Jesse White.

Courtney Luna and Jake Luna.

Janice Gelband and Brenda Shields.

Scott Jones and Jill Jones.

Andrea McCracken and Brian McCracken.

Fern Powell and Mike Hollifield.

Deb Brannon and Angel Cox.

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Knock Hunger Off Its Rocker PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ Knock Hunger Off Its Rocker, an annual event benefitting The Carpenter's Table Community Outreach Center, took place Sept. 22 at RJ Rockers Brewery in downtown Spartanburg. The event included live music, ice cold RJ Rockers brews, handcrafted food, and fun activities.

The Knock Hunger Off Its Rocker fundraiser to benefit The Carpenter’s Table was held at RJ Rockers on Sept. 22.

Donna Johnson and Reynolds Atkinson.

Rod Kovell and Tracey Kovell.

Kathy Archenhold and Terry Archenhold.

Rebecca Anderson, Heather Warner and Maria Batson.

Juliet Batson and Anna Rose Elliot.

Brian Shea and Abby Shea.

Kimberly Anderson, Ashley Smith and Lindzey Neely.

Van Batson, Gaetan Hemond and Jeremy Anderson.

Bert Wilkerson and Linda Wilkerson.

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Tailgate Trot PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ The Patron Society hosted Tailgate Trot on Aug. 11. The event which featured tailgate tents, live music from the Hot Sauce Band, a silent auction and raffle raised money to benefit the Hope Center for Children.

The Patron Society held a Tailgate Trot event to benefit the Hope Center for Children at Indigo Hall on Aug. 11.

Rod McDowell and Reggie Merriweather.

Lauren Valuckas and Chris Gergley.

Kathy Humpries, David Humphries and Molly Moyer.

Cynthia Brown and Ric Brown.

John Burleson.

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Meg Parris and April Dickard.

Ann Blair Gurganus and Kemp Gurganus.

Anna Blanton and Steven Blanton.

Brandon Stepp and Sarah Stepp.

Brianna Woodsby and Jon Woodsby.

Brian Nash and Jaime Nash.

Lou Wiltfang and Perry Wiltfang.

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Rockin’ in the Barn PHOTOS BY WENDY SHOCKLEY MCCARTY Rockin' In The Barn was an event on May 4 to benefit Christmas in Action. Music by Back 9, dinner and drinks and a silent auction took place at Forevermore Farm in Moore.

Jason Israel, Bruce Caldwell, Jerry Goodman, Matt Hardigree, David Bird and Edward Jabbour performed as “Back 9.”

Kaitlyn Shumate (2018 Miss Spartanburg Methodist College), Kim Catom (Board Chair for Christmas in Action) and Caroline Chandler.

Guests enjoyed the “Rockin’ In The Barn” event at Forevermore Farm in Moore. The event benefited “Christmas in Action.”

David Swindle, Jay Engledow, Mini Hoffman and Chris Hoffman.

Amy Cooper and Lori Hirsch (Floral and Visual Designer at Forevermore Farm).

Mott Bramblett, Don Bramblett and Cindy Barrett.

Mary Jane Michaels, Bill Michaels and Heather Hulsey (Board Member/Committee chair of the event).

Kristin Wright and Mackay Hulsey.

Katherine Rausch and Allyson McPhaul.

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SCENE The 10th anniversary of the Hub City Empty Bowls Gala was held at Indigo Hall on Sept. 28.

Hub City Empty Bowls PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ

A gala was held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hub City Empty Bowls on Sept. 28 at Indigo Hall. Patrons enjoyed beer, wine and finger foods and bid on items in a silent auction.

Patsy Simmons and John Simmons.

Norm Williamson and Nancy Williamson.

â–º The Rev. Debbie Apoldo and Susan Walters.

Bob Wall and Nancy Wall.

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Debbie Kocisko, Craig Kocisko and Christina Estes.

Cathy Ellett, Quincy Halliday and Traci Kennedy.

Meg Lee, Susan Conrad and Nancy Henderson.

Kacie Sims and Randi Berry.

Regina Harper and Bruce Bowyer.

Mary Mason and Cathy Beck.

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All White Attire Party PHOTOS BY JOHN BYRUM The Butterfly Foundation hosted an All White Attire Party at the Monarch Cafe on Sept. 2.

Linda Meadows, Brenda Lindsey and Vickie Ferguson.

Ronald Trammel.

Ken and Teresa Foster.

Tawny and Arnold Jones.

Mack and Roaone Candy.

Diane Durrah, Deborah Teamer and Alma Bobo. Stephanie Nobles.

Clemontine Gentry, Nathanile Rhodes, Kemesha Bruadus, and Zena Brockam.

Linda Smith, Karen Gurganious and Essence Smith.

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Noah Guthrie at FR8yard PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY Noah Guthrie’s run on “America’s Got Talent” came to an end on Sept.

12. The Greer resident made it to the semifinals of the popular NBC reality competition series. On June 20, Guthrie performed a hometown concert at the FR8yard in downtown Spartanburg.

The concert was filmed for use on "America's Got Talent."

Noah Guthrie performs at the FR8yard in downtown Spartanburg on June 20. The concert was filmed for “America’s Got Talent.”

A hometown crowd cheers Noah Guthrie’s performance at the FR8yard.

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PA R T I N G S H OT

PHOTO COURTESY OF B&B STUDIO COLLECTION, SPARTANBURG COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Glendale in the 1950s Glendale’s popular nickname was “The Mother of the Mills” because its early success led directly to the creation of other mills throughout Spartanburg County in the 19th century. But when modernized production and globalization brought increasing pressures to the local textile industry, Glendale was one of the first to close its doors. This 1950s aerial photograph shows the mill in its final years of active production. Although the mill is gone, Glendale is experiencing a revival as a recreation spot. During good weather, the dramatic shoals, restored iron bridge, extensive trails, and large public garden bring daily visitors.

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