Chatham Magazine April/May 2018

48 Chatham Central’s budding gardeners 62 four unique rooms 86 an American dream(er) april/may 2018 vol. 1, no. 5

home & garden a page 48

women’s the

10

women from around Chatham who inspire us page 36

Tami Schwerin At the heart of Pittsboro

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april/may 2018 chathammagazinenc.com

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Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

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contents

FEATURES 36

The Women of Chatham Meet 10 remarkable women shaping our county

48

Get Growing Student-run greenhouses teach planting and life skills

58

Garden Q&A Three garden pros answer questions for spring

62

Four Great Rooms Get inspired by these one-of-a-kind spaces

72

Introducing Neighborhood Profiles The first installment of this new regular feature explores Governors Club

82

Hidden Gems Have you visited all these low key vacation spots?

86

An American Dream A valedictorian’s uncertain future

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS 6

Letter from the Editor

26 Noted 30

5 Events Not to Miss

32

First Person Lilly Den Farms owner Mackenzie Withington

98

Dining Guide

103 Weddings

Savannah Joyce & Brooks Childress

Karen Tiede & John Hogan

62

AROUND TOWN

20

10

Moncure Volunteer Fire Department Souper Bowl

14

22

Chatham County Council on Aging’s 30th Annual Cake Bake Off

Fearrington Folk Art Show

18

Chatham County Sheriff’s Office Polar Plunge

24

Carolina Tiger Rescue Black Tie & Tails Ball

Partnership for Children’s Blue Jeans and Bling

discover

true l u x u r y

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LE T T ER FR OM T H E P U B L IS H E R

the women’s issue, explained

T

he best way to describe our first Women’s Issue (page 36) is by

explaining what it’s not: A competition with winners, losers, finalists, tie-breakers and so on.

Rather, we set out to profile a group of outstanding women in our community. As our staff puts together each issue, meeting as many faces in as many corners of Chatham as we can, we keep a constantly updated list of women we know, women we hear of and – this is the common denominator, I guess – women we admire.

Chatham is a place that is, in so many ways, defined by the women who live here. The mayor of our largest town, two of our five Chatham County Board of Commissioners and our newest judge are all women, two of whom you’ll meet inside. Our renowned art and music scenes – from Chatham’s deep folk art traditions to its rock ’n’ roll – are rich with female creativity. In this issue, you’ll meet women who’ve taught Chatham to dance for a decade and who can mix us a drink at their own distillery. And courageous? We meet two young women unafraid to compete in ‘boys’ sports, and a woman unafraid to welcome perhaps the most vulnerable among us – babies born to women in jail – into her own home.

The conversations we have as we select the handful of women we have space to showcase are fascinating. Everyone on staff contributes their thoughts until we all agree on the final list. When we were done, we had far more deserving candidates – more women we admire – than we had space for. It feels terrible to leave anyone out, but it also makes me excited for next year.

But we can’t be everywhere or know everyone – send me your nominations. I promise, we will consider each and every candidate. CM

Ellen Shannon  ellenshannon@chathammagazinenc.com 6

Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

When it comes to real estate, you

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PEO PL E & P L A C E S

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moncure firefighters win the “souper bowl” P H O T O S B Y HE A T HE R JOH NSON

Though the big game was still a day away, the Moncure Volunteer Fire Department was treated to a “Souper Bowl” lunch on February 3. The soup was courtesy of the kitchens of the Real Housewives of Chatham County, a group that, despite the name, is mostly full-time professional women. The Housewives began as a collection of social friends and now get together for service projects. Members brought homemade soups, including tortilla, chicken noodle, french onion and chili for the 50 firefighters and family of Moncure Station 8. CM 10

Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

1 The “Housewives” crew (from top): Sophie Johnson, Brandon Cameron, Jaime Sansom, Debbie Cameron, Terri Lafoon, Shana O’Leary, Sandy Cutler, Heather and Ole Johnson. 2 Asst.

Chief Brian Sykes, with sons Cooper, Conner and Tyson. 3 Firefighters Chris Dawson and Kelly Jones, Cpt. David Cotten.

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Chatham Magazine

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PEO PL E & P L A C E S

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folk art at fearrington P H O T O S B Y M A T T W H ITE

The 16th annual Fearrington Folk Art Show drew artists from as close as Pittsboro and Moncure to as far off as Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Georgia. Artists are self-taught and produce art that reflects folk and native themes. The show includes painting, etching, found-object sculptures, Carolina-tradition pottery, woodworking, metalworking and other outsider art. CM

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Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

1 Visiting from Kansas, Barbara Bosché and Alex Van Vleck decided to take a metalwork sun by Mebane’s Riley Foster back to the “sunflower” state. 2 Bynum artist Clyde Jones and Georgia painter Peter Loose. 3 Fleetwood Covington paints on sheets of tin.

Day or night, stained glass will warm your heart and home.

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Chatham Magazine

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PEO PL E & P L A C E S

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Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

4 Georgia painter Bailey Jack’s portrait of Frida Kahlo. 5 Moncure potter Lara O’Keefe. 6 Pittsboro artist Thomas Graham. 7 Anne White and Shar Dunn.

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smilepittsboro.com April/May 2018

Chatham Magazine

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PEO PL E & P L A C E S

1

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polar plunge PH O T O S C O U RT E S Y CH ATH AM COUNTY SH E RIF F ’S D EPARTMEN T

Nearly 50 brave souls, led by Sheriff Mike Roberson in full pirate costume, took a brisk plunge into the 60-degree waters of Jordan Lake on March 3. Sponsored by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, the plunge raised more than $10,000 for Special Olympics Chatham County. CM 18

Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

1 Beau Undercoffer, Mike O’Donnell, Lucas Undercoffer and Sheen Hosseinpour.

2 Mia Edwards and Haley Bann.

3 Capt. Tammy Kirkman, Lt. Jessica Norton and North Chatham Fire Department Diver Josh Stone. 4 Officers Rob Miller and Branden Havens.

P E OPLE & PLAC E S

5

6

Serving Chatham County since 1982 7

Ken Tunnell, Blair Nell, Don Basnight, Clayton Nell, Terri Turner, Louise Barnum, Jay Parker, Crystal Fisher, Jen Johnston, Bill Mullen & Gary Phillips

THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE

5 Justin Harper. 6 Noah Frazier, Percy Grady, Jonathon Porter and Tracey Walker. 7 Sheriff Mike and Sharon Annette Roberson.

We are cooperative, social-minded, curious, inclusive, searching. A niche firm with an environmental ethic.

Reach out to Weaver Street Realty when it’s time for a change.

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WeaverStreetRealty.com April/May 2018

Chatham Magazine

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PEO PL E & P L A C E S

1

2

1 Partnership for Children staff members Tammy Poirier, Tammy Matthews and Vicki Price.

2 Staff members Ann Carter and Meredith Williams with Barbara Wallace.

blue jeans & bling PHOTOS BY SHEEN KLAUS

Chapel Hill’s Real EstateSpecialist CELEBRATING

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

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Tony Hall

20

Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

The Chatham County Partnership for Children held its annual Blue Jeans & Bling dinner and auction on March 3 at The Barn at Woodlake Meadows in Bear Creek. With 114 guests, the live auction raised $28,600 for the children’s advocacy group. Along with the auction of donated items, guests could buy $25 Bling Boxes, one of which held a set of handmade earrings by Barbara McFadyen Jewelry valued at $350. The event raised $4,675 for play equipment for children in child care programs. Key sponsor included M&M Alpaca Farm, Candle Science Inc., Tresha Lucas and DeJoy/Wos Family Foundation. CM

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Chatham Magazine

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PEO PL E & P L A C E S

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cake bake turns 30 P H O T O S B Y E L L E N SH ANNON

The Chatham County Council on Aging held its 30th Annual Cake Bake Off on February 11. Judges Gene Hamer of Crook’s Corner, cookbook author Nancie McDermott and UNC student Ashley Schultz, who works with the Council, picked Helena McGovern’s dark chocolate cake with hazelnut cream as the best from among 17 entries. Dawn Streets took second with a black forest cake and third went to Megan Saulsbury’s chocolate orange. After the judging, all 17 entries were auctioned off by Pam Smith, who has served as auctioneer since the bakeoff’s inception. The sale raised $2,400 for the Council, all of which will support programs for seniors, such as in-home care, Meals on Wheels, transportation and other services. CM

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Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

1 Melanie Girard, development and communications director for the Chatham County Council on Aging, and Patricia Regan. 2 Pam Smith.

3 Rick and Judy Gage, Hope Welch, Victoria Howard, Pamela Fincher and Josie, Sara and Louis Gage. 4 Judges Nancie McDermott, Ashley Schultz and Gene Hamer.

EARLY DETECTION STARTS WITH a MAMMOGRAM.

One out of eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Mammograms can help find breast cancer at an early stage, which is why getting a regular screening is so important. At UNC Chatham Hospital, conveniently located in Siler City, we perform over 4,000 mammograms each year. Our mammography program offers the expert care you’re looking for, right where you want it.

TO SCHEDULE your MAMMOGRAM, call (919) 799-4603.

UNC Chatham Hospital | 475 Progress Boulevard | Siler City, NC 27344

P EO P L E & P L A CES

1 Visit o

2 barnurs!

O ve r 6,000 sq

ft!

2

hear them roar P HOTOS COU RTESY GARY AN D RITA N U N N , LIZ SLABODN ICK/MIN T&MU STARD PHOTOGRAPHY

1921 Hadley Mill Rd Pittsboro, North Carolina (919) 642-0022 24

Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

The Carolina Tiger Rescue held it’s 11th Annual Black Tie & Tails Ball at the Washington Duke Inn in Durham on February 24. The event raised $122,506 for the Pittsboro animal sanctuary. In the live auction, which raised $37,550, the biggest moneymaker was A Day with the Vet, which gave the winners an opportunity to shadow the rescue’s vet, Dr. Angela Lassiter, for a day. Some of the funds raised will go toward the purchase of a small, cold-weather habitat for the Rescue’s non-feline kinkajous and coatimundis. CM

PEOP L E & P L A C E S

3

Jump rope classes & camps for all ages

4

1 Carolina Tiger Rescue volunteers Tracy Tobin, Barbara Daniel, Rita Nunn and Ashley Nix. 2 The live auction raised $37,550. 3 Carolina Tiger Rescue Executive Director Pam Fulk. 4 Lily, a coatimundi.

April/May 2018

Chatham Magazine

25

noted

what we’ve heard around the county

SEND US YOUR NOTEWORTHY MOMENTS!

in the 2018 Chatham County Middle School Basketball Championship tournaments in February. Chris Lawson and Kada Lewis led the boys’ team to their 69-39 victory over J. S. Waters. Natalie Bell led the girls’ team to their 55-28 win against Horton Middle School.

holly@ chathammagazinenc .com

What an Honor Becky Starr, owner of Pittsboro’s Starrlight Mead, traveled to Colorado to speak at the American Mead Makers Association’s national conference in March. Becky shared advice and expertise gained during her seven years running a tasting room at Starrlight. Her audience included mead makers interested in opening their own meadery.

And the Award Goes To...

Chatham Charter School senior Megan Coble (pictured) won the State Senior Beta woodworking competition for the second consecutive year. She is now eligible to compete in the national competition to be held in Savannah, Ga. in June.

Led by coaches Harold Baldwin and Marty Goldman, both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams at Margaret B. Pollard Middle came in first place 26

Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

Chatham County native Ginger Cunningham was appointed the new director of North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Chatham County Center. The NCCE is a USDA-funded program through NC State University and NC A&T State University that partners with every North Carolina county to improve its agricultural industries. Ginger was previously the internim county extension directory for 4-H. She holds multiple degrees in agriculture and animal science.

The UNC Medical Building located in Chatham Park earned LEED Certification. The designation indicates that the

Students all over the country, including those at Chatham County Schools, celebrated Digital Learning Day on February 22. Delia DeCourcy, the district’s executive director for teaching and digital learning, connected students with Flipgrid, an online collaboration platform.

building meets a stringent list of environmentally sensitive requirements, from energy efficiency to locally sourced materials to proper disposal of building materials.

Chatham County was among ten winners chosen by the Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge Spotlight Award to receive a prize of $25,000. The county won for its work on the Chatham County Comprehensive Plan, which aims to foster health in our communities.

Fond Farewell The Farmers’ Alliance Store in Siler City closed after serving the community for 130 years. This store was the oldest in Siler City and sold a variety of homemade products from different area farmers. It operated as a co-op - farmers owned shares of the store.

Mark Your Calendar Pittsboro Youth Theater’s Sweet Bee Theater in Pittsboro Center for the Arts, will present four productions this spring:

“Rapunzel” on April 21-29, “Gooney Bird Greene & Her

True-life Adventures” May 5-6 and two Shakespeare productions for high schoolers. The theater’s recent run of “Into the Woods,” which concluded in March, gained viral fame when a performance was featured in a YouTube video on the popular Wassabi Productions channel.

Wassabi has 10 million subscribers and the video had been viewed more than 1.2 million times as of press time.

Chatham Animal Rescue & Education

(CARE) will host its annual FUNtastic Cat & Dog Videofest on April 20th at 6pm at Pittsboro Roadhouse. This event will include hilarious pet videos, a silent auction and a raffle. All funds raised will go to spay/neuter operations, care for homeless pets and children’s outreach programs. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

How much distance can you cover in six or 12 hours? Prove it at the Jordan Lake 12-Hour Challenge on April 14.

Open to individuals and teams with a new-for-2018 six-hour division. Rest when you want, eat when you want, run or walk when you want and go as far as your aching body will take you.

In 2017, Ken Bell ran almost 62 miles on the 1.3 mile course, while Shelley April/May 2018

Chatham Magazine

27

Science for all.

onth a full m l fun!

Enjoy a v ti s fe nce of scie

APRIL 2018

Photo credit: Heidi Carlone

Photo credit: Mary Lide Parker

Copyright Š 2017 SAS Institute Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission

Join us for a month-long, 500-mile-wide, statewide celebration of science! Find an event near you at: www.ncsciencefestival.org

28

Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

and Wendy Cernel ran 55 to win the women’s division.

Academic Updates The Chatham County Board of Education approved a change to the planned Chatham Grove Park Elementary School, which will be located across the street from Pollard Middle on Andrew Store Road. The change in plans will cost roughly $200,000 in design work. The new design will include provisions for the

make

N O TE D

marvel

FIRST SUNDAY, APRIL 1

school to be used as an emergency shelter and space for a Chatham County Parks and Recreation-run gymnasium.

If built according to the new plan, the county will pay approximately $2.7 million for the additions. The estimated budget for Grove Park is just under $30 million.

savor dine

learn

shop

Chatham County Schools was one

of 38 districts in North Carolina to receive Blue Ribbon Awards for Effective School Communications and Public Relations from the North Carolina Public Relations Association.

The district won six awards for its excellence in digital media engagement, electronic media, writing, image/graphic design, marketing, photography and special events and programs. Pictured: Chris Fuller, Keith Medlin, Sarah Campbell, John McCann and Patricia Hollingsworth CM

dance

MOTHER’S DAY, MAY 13

laugh MAINSTREETPITTSBORO.ORG April/May 2018

Chatham Magazine

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five events

you won’t want to miss

Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival May 3-6 A line-up of 50 bands and performers over 72 acres of farmland make up Chatham’s largest music festival of the year. Enjoy local crafts, delicious food, healing art practitioners, dancing and music workshops, environmental sustainability forums and more. shakorihillsgrassroots.org

Try your hand at paints and crafts at several great street festivals that showcase Chatham artists, including ClydeFEST in Bynum (April 14).

ClydeFEST & Bynum Bridge Fest April 14 & 21 Two great festivals, two great weekends, one great town. First, Chatham County’s most original party celebrates renowned wood sculptor Clyde Jones. Then, come back the next week for a stroll along the picturesque Bynum Bridge to take in and take home the eclectic work of local artists. chathamartscouncil.org, bephilarthropy.com 30

Chatham Magazine

April/May 2018

North Carolina Beer Month All of April Follow a craft beverage trail that features many Chatham County stops, including 580 Craft Beer, Bear Creek Brews, Carolina Brewery and Grill, Cloer Family Vineyards, Doyle’s Vineyard, Fair Game Beverage Company, Starrlight Mead and Vino!! Wine Shop. Special tastings and tours scheduled throughout the month at various locations. visitpittsboro.com

Perry Harrison 5K and Obstacle Course & Moncure Panther Prowl 5K May 5 and 6 Grab your running shoes and support Chatham schools at two local races. phspta.membershiptoolkit.com, moncurepta.com Spring Pittsboro Antique Fair May 18-20 Spend the day shopping vintage and antique home decorations, furniture, jewelry, art, pottery and books and collectables at this three-day family event. Get your face painted and grab something delicious from a variety of food trucks. pittsboroantique.com CM

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‘I try to keep the poultry off the swingset’ Mackenzie Withington, owner of Lilly Den Farm and manager of the Pittsboro Farmers Market, talks homesteading, homeschooling and how she does it all From Big City to 10 Acres ’m actually from New York City. When I met [husband and New York dairy farmer] Tucker, I was going to school for forensic psychology, go figure. I moved to upstate New York and we bought our first farm. I was actually a stay-at-home mom when [Lilly, 11] and [Dennet, 12] were growing up and I went back to school to get my master’s in teaching. [In 2008,] we moved [to Goldston] just with our show cows. They cost a lot of money and they don’t bring in a whole lot of money, and when they do bring in money [Tucker] just put it right back into the cows. I was like, ‘You need to figure out a way to make farming bring in some money.’ We were raising meat for us and that’s when we decided, ‘Let’s just start raising meat.’ We were living on a teacher’s salary. I taught in Harnett County. In 2013 when I had Meadow [4], I was ready to be done teaching. I had her, I never went back. I took my maternity leave and then I got pregnant with [Rye, 2] and then I really wasn’t going back.”

“I Mackenzie and son Rye, 2.

From Farm To Market “I manage the Pittsboro Farmers’ Market. We started as a vendor there in 2009 and I’ve been the manager for four years. We have a solid 10 or 12 vendors, and then craft and seasonal vendors, like a blueberry vendor only during blueberry season. I’m constantly looking for new seasonal vendors. The majority of our vendors are full-time farmers, 32

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FIRST P ER SO N

this is their career, so we’re not taking any old vendor. If we have three or four selling vegetables, that’s all you need. But we don’t have a honey vendor or preserves.

“We sell [our own] unpasteurized milk, [and] yogurt that we milk here, bottle here, make here. Eggs are a big thing. [In early February] I sold, like, forty dozen eggs. It’s insane. We sell all the meat that we raise: pork, beef,

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chicken. We actually process our own chicken. We have duck.

We sell monthly bundles, we sell it in bulk. Pretty much if you want to buy it, I will sell it to you however you want. I’m not afraid to drive anything to anyone. If people want me to deliver, ... I go all the way down to the coast.

“We do compost. People can bring their truck and fill it. I mean, we have poop. That’s one thing we’re not short on!”

From School Teacher to Farmhand...

“While I was teaching, we hired a part-time farm hand who would help do chores and daily farm tasks. Once I stopped, I took over And Men her daily chores. I also spend a lot of time working on marketing and other off-farm tasks that have helped our business grow. I like the fact that I create my own schedule. If something doesn’t go right, it’s my own fault. I don’t have anyone to blame but us. If I want to make more money, then I just have to work harder.

“I love the fact that my kids have this opportunity to grow up on a farm. I thought I had a great childhood. I don’t know what my parents did with me all day long inside. I just love it, and I hate it. I wish we had a little more money so we could actually get better-running equipment. Everything we have is falling apart. My van is actually pretty good, but everything we own is old, because nothing was given to us. But that’s also really nice, too, knowing we’re doing it alone and we didn’t inherit anything. It’s just the simple life.”

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...And Back to Teacher “They do most of their homeschooling curriculums on the computer. Lilly is severely dyslexic and dysgraphic, so she does a program designed for that. And my son just does computer programs. I

FIRS T PE RS ON

don’t actually teach it. I did at first, but I don’t know how I taught so many kids [as a full-time] teacher and was so nice.

Teaching [my] own kids, I’m so mean! Dennet, he’s right where he needs to be – hates school, just would rather be on the farm, gets his work done and is outside. They will wake up and do schoolwork, and Tucker and I take the babies out and work. I honestly think it would be harder to get ’em up and out the door and then be there at 2 o’clock to pick them up. Come 1 o’clock, I’m ready to leave for the day, do all my deliveries and start getting the kids ready for their extracurricular activities.

“We do three summer camps: June, July and August. In March

what’s in season, not necessarily just on this farm but on other farms. They cook twice a day, and my goal is to teach them how to use farm products and also simple snacks they could make at home with healthy ingredients.

“During camps, I try to keep all the poultry off the swingset.” CM — As told to Holly West

and April, we do day camps for homeschoolers, weekend day camps, adult day camps, dairy activities. In September... our turkeys are getting so big [they] start taking over the farm.

Our July and August campers get to handle the turkeys. [Campers] get to work with the Jersey [cows], and learn the show aspect of dairy cows, which is very different from just conventionally milking. You know, it doesn’t look like it because they’re standing in mud right now, but they are pampered individuals.

“One of our biggest ‘attractions,’ shall we say, is the bunnies. If I could just have a bunny camp, I would be a millionaire. The kids will spend hours in the bunnies, so we teach them how to show them, work with them on a harness and, you know, just hold them correctly because any break they get they spend in here.

“We do a big outdoor cooking component [using] what we have on the farm to make something super easy that the kids can make themselves. Pancakes or simple scrambled eggs or stuff from the garden. We’ll make cheese and yogurt and ice cream. And we try to use April/May 2018

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women’s issue the first Chatham Magazine

They teach us to dance and they lift our spirits. They’re playing with the boys and rocking out with the girls. They make the laws and keep us safe. Ten remarkable women who call Chatham home.

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Tami Schwerin the community builder

Y

ou get a feel for how far back Tami Schwerin goes in Chatham when she talks about opening her first business, a software company, in Pittsboro in the early 1990s. She and her husband, Lyle Estill, went in to apply for a business license for their start-up, Blast Software. “[We] had to check a box for the kind of business it is,” she remembers. “They didn’t have ‘tech’ or ‘software’ as an option.

chaos, pain, disease, suffering, violence in the world, and that leaks out to destroying our earth,” she says. “I seek the roots.”

Yet, as she studied how society grapples with the end of life, the topic became much too real. In April of 2016, her son Zafer Estill, 20, was found dead in

They put us down as ‘small appliances.’”

In the decades since, nothing Tami has done in Pittsboro has been “small.” Rather, through a life that has combined activism and business, celebration and grief, Tami has helped remake the face and heart of Pittsboro. After selling Blast, she and Lyle converted an abandoned factory off Lorax Lane in east Pittsboro, which she calls “The Plant,” to manufacture biofuels and then reinvented the complex into a distillery as Fair Game Beverage Co. Biofuels, she says, should be an important sustainable energy source and was a good business – until most restaurants in the region caught on and stopped giving away their used cooking oil for free. “We get in in the beginning of things,” laughs Tami, “and lose our butt.”

Along the way, as the founding president of the Chatham Marketplace co-op grocery story, she helped revitalize Chatham Mills. In 2006, Tami founded Abundance North Carolina as an incubator of ideas and resources for businesses, nonprofits and events with sustainable missions. The organization has helped launch local farmers markets, community lender Slow Money NC, summer camps, music festivals and, beginning in 2008, the annual Pepperfest, which attracts scores of local farms and restaurants and thousands of attendees.

But the spring of 2016 marked a sudden, wrenching change to her work. When a neighbor, Chris Lucash, was diagnosed with ALS, the prospect of his near and certain death moved Tami to study how America treats the end of life. What she found reminded her of the hands-off mechanics of a commodity market – ornate caskets and flowers, a quick burial and a few days off from work. No room for connection, no room for grieving.

“Our work started as environmentally based, but as I dug deeper I found that if you don’t address grief and loss, you create

Boulder, Co., of a drug overdose. She posted to Facebook: “My dear friends, our lives are changed forever. My beautiful hard-headed, hilarious, sweet, sweet son Zafer made a huge error.”

Zafer’s death led Tami to launch the annual Death Faire that November. The festival, which she calls “an exploration and celebration” of life, is held at The Plant and brings together speakers, experts and artists on topics ranging from terminal medical care to DIY funerals and green burials to spiritual help. In its two years, the event has drawn medical professionals and patients with terminal illnesses. The festival features films, art and traditions like a New Orleans jazz funeral, Mexican Day of the Dead and Congolese village funeral.

Abundance’s latest promotion is what Tami calls the Think Again series, lectures and workshops that examine outdated practices and social systems.

“After Zafer’s death, my brain was completely reconstructed,” Tami says.

“I realized that the smallest things that don’t get mentioned can be life or death.

I think that our culture, our community needs to examine everything that we think of as truth, look again at it and speak about the unmentionables.”

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THE WO M EN’S IS S U E

Madi Horrell and Mykia Taylor the athletes

M

adi Horrell and Mykia Taylor weren’t trying to

break boundaries. They just wanted to play.

For Madi, a sophomore at Northwood High School, that meant finding a sport she liked after a childhood spent in Singapore and Australia. Her family returned to the U.S. and Chatham in time for 8th grade.

“My mom really wanted me to find a sport,” says Madi, and a middle-school teacher gave her a flyer for the girls lacrosse league. “I enjoyed it and wanted to keep playing.”

But Northwood does not have a girls team so Madi tried out for the boys team. This spring, she’s the starting goalie on the school’s JV team. In early March, she recorded 12 saves in a breakthrough win over Carrboro High School, one of the state’s top programs, and she was named Player of the Game after making 16 saves against Pinecrest High School.

“I don’t think they realize [I’m a girl] until I take my helmet off,” she says. “One player for another team, when he saw me, he told me, ‘Wow, you’re really good for a girl.’”

Mykia, an 8th grader at Moncure School took up baseball two years ago. She already played softball.

“I knew a lot of people who were like, ‘Why?,’” she says. “I wanted to try something different. I wanted to do something different that I knew not a lot of people would do.”

She tried out at catcher as a 7th grader and made the team.

Proving herself took a bit longer. “[The boys} are coming strong with all their speed,” she said in a school interview.

“When they get down on that ground, your only choice is to cover home and try to tag ‘em out.”

With a bat in her hand, she says, she got some hits and a few strikeouts. Now in 8th grade, she’s switched to volleyball after a larger group of boys tried out for baseball this year.

When she joins Madi at Northwood next year, she says, she’ll probably stick with softball, but she hopes more girls will push into boys’ sports behind her.

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TH E WOM E N’S IS S UE

Ebony Grissett-Delgado the dancer

E

bony Grissett-Delgado opened Chatham Dance Connection in 2008,

renting space wherever she could find it. She and her students danced after hours in day-care centers, rented space at Camp Royall and even used a spare room at the back of an Italian restaurant. Sara Heilman, who today competes as one of Ebony’s elite students, remembers those early days.

“We’d have to walk through the actual restaurant and past all the customers in our ballet clothing,” says Sara, now a senior at Northwood High School. “We’ve been everywhere and I never really thought to question it. We’re not the biggest studio in the world but I know every single person by name.”

“I just love the fact that people want to dance and share that with me,” Ebony says.

“Whatever their ability is, we welcome it. We have kids who have special needs. We also offer scholarships, so if [choosing to take lessons or not] is income-based, that’s not an issue. I never want anyone to not dance for one of those reasons.”

Four years ago, Ebony moved the studio into a dedicated space behind the Piggly Wiggly shopping center. The space is small, but it’s her own and she now teaches close to 100 dancers. One of them, Jonah Jacomet, 11, a huge Michael Jackson fan, came to Ebony to learn the King of Pop’s moves. His mom, Edie, worried how Jonah, who falls on the autism spectrum, would take to a structured dance class.

“He just took off,” Edie says. “Ebony was very kind and patient with him.” When Jonah did his routine in his third

grade talent show, the video was picked up by a local TV station and played on the ABC News website.

Meanhwhile, Sara and Ebony’s other senior dancers have won regional dance titles. “Ebony has always been the teacher that I’ve been closest with,” she says. “She’s always been my dance mom.”

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THE WO M EN’S IS S U E

Sherri Murrell the judge

A

s Chatham’s newest district court judge, Sherri Murrell presides over cases in both

the new Chatham County Justice Center

and Orange County courtrooms. She was elected in 2016 after 16 years as a public defender, trying her earliest cases in the Chatham County Historic Courthouse. A Tar Heel for both undergrad and law school, she and her husband, Duncan, an English teacher at Chatham Central High School and freelance magazine writer, are raising their two daughters, Caroline, 14, and Sarah Anne, 11, in Pittsboro.

On any given day, she may rule on traffic tickets, misdemeanors or the particularly difficult decisions of family court, often involving children. Those cases, she says, “are both tough and rewarding. I’m constantly reminded that there are real human beings that are having these experiences.”

In one recent case, Judge Murrell was confronted with whether to permanently remove two children from their parents’ care. “[These] children were young and [their temporary guardians] were interested in adopting them. For that to happen, the biological parents had to either give up or have their parental rights legally terminated. Cases like that are painful because no matter how deficient parents are, they love their children and usually don’t want to give them up.”

In this case, she ruled to end the parental rights, opening the door for the guardians to adopt.

But it’s never easy.

“I would rather somebody tell me they are going to lock me up than take my kids,” she says.

“Those are the two fundamental ideas: people want to be free and they want to have their kids.

So you run the gamut from terribly sad to a situation that ends up, for these children anyway, as being incredibly positive.” - MW

TH E WOM E N’S IS S UE

Susan Henson the guardian

A

round six years ago, Susan Henson’s daughter Abigail Attix saw a TV show on the plight of infants born to women in jail.

Within a day of birth, babies are turned over to whomever a mom can find, usually family or friends.

And they may have little control over when they get their babies back.

Susan reacted with sympathy but not much else.

“I thought, ‘Somebody should do something about that’,” she says. “But it ain’t me.”

Yet within days, she realized she couldn’t shrug it off. “The next few weeks I couldn’t sleep at night,” she says. “I felt God saying, ‘Someone needs to do this, and I’m tapping you on the shoulder.’”

In 2017, after more than five years of laying groundwork, Susan opened her home to the first “class” of babies – Skyler and Jaiden – at Pharaoh’s Daughter, a non-profit Susan built to Susan Henson, center, and her daughters Abigail and Haley Attix meet that calling. She had been contacted about with Skyler, 7 months. two women who were facing jail time and also expecting in July and August. Susan met the but that many women in jail miss. When women and they agreed to name her as their child’s guardian released, the women stay at Susan’s house during their sentences. until they find suitable housing. Jaiden “When a woman is pregnant, she is going to be calling her is already back with her mother. Skyler’s mother, aunt, her next door neighbor,” says Susan. “Maybe mom gets out in April. they come from a home with some kind of abuse, and she is Already, Susan says, lives change. “One sending her newborn baby right back into that stew.” of our moms had been estranged from She named the non-profit after the Biblical story of the her adult children for many years,” says Pharaoh’s daughter who took Moses as a baby, saving him Susan. “She just couldn’t get on her feet from drowning in the Nile. Susan also moved Abigail back into and she’d disappointed her kids one too her house to help with, as she put it, being ‘back into the baby many times. Now, they’ve been reunited. business.’

Those are implications I didn’t consider While their moms are away, Susan takes the babies to visit when we started, the ripple effect of a them every week – the most allowed – a step that child experts human being doing well.” view as vital to allowing mothers to bond with their newborns April/May 2018

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THE WO M EN’S IS S U E

Karen Howard the commissioner

T

he top two stories on the top of Karen Howard’s recent Facebook timeline do not, at first glance, have much in common. The first you might expect from a Chatham County commissioner: a report on an ongoing dispute in Siler City between residents of a trailer park and a major chicken processor that wants to build a new factory on the site.

The second post could be a travel ad: a tropical beach surrounded by white cliffs, palm trees and turquoise ocean. The story links to an online petition from the Bahamas, where local activists want to prevent a resort development on an historic, pristine stretch of coastline on the island of Eleuthera.

For Karen, who grew up in the Bahamas through middle school (her father’s family is from Eleuthera), the dispute in Siler City and the petition from the island strike the same chord. The parallels, she says, helped her connect with long-time Chatham residents over the past two years as the Board of Commissioners developed the county’s new Comprehensive Plan, which will guide county planners for the next 25 years. Before adopting the plan in November, the board held 18 months of town hall and community meetings to hear from residents.

“When you sit down and you’re talking to people, I can say I came from a place where everybody knew everybody,” Karen says. “We face the same challenges. The Bahamas [less than 200 miles from Miami] is right off the coast of this giant that’s gradually creeping in. How do we preserve our cultural identity?”

Some of the most productive listening sessions, she says, came in rural pockets of the county like Bonlee and Bear Creek, where residents want to preserve Chatham’s rural identity.

“For a lot of these people, their goal is not to commute to Wake County and make a lot more money,” she says. “For a lot of them, it’s quality of life and it’s Chathamspecific. What are we doing that’s making the Moncures survive and thrive, the Goldstons survive and thrive?”

Karen came to Chatham in 2006 from New Jersey, where she practiced law for more than a decade. “We kept looking around Chapel Hill, and I kept coming back to Chatham,” she says. A mother of six, she spent most of her time looking at schools. As she waited for a tour of North Chatham Elementary – the only school she visited where the principal gave her a tour – she watched a school secretary call out to kids by name, and ask them about their home life. “She’d say, ‘How’s your puppy?’” Karen remembers.

Just as she would describe the Bahamas, the moment made her realize that Chatham was “a place where everybody knows everybody.” - MW

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THE WO M EN’S IS S U E

Beth Turner, Melanie Girard, Tracy Lynn the rock’n’rollers

Unmentionables, in mysterious terms.

“We want to create this shroud of mystery and create mild paranoia. ‘Is this

song written about me?’ These songs are about our friends...,” and then she stops, as if she’s said too much. “Well, I’m not gonna say who these songs are about. It could be you.”

Indeed, if you have spent much time in Chatham, you have likely run across at least one of The Unmentionables – and could therefore be the subject of a song. While all three musicians have played in various musical acts in and around Chatham for over a decade, they also hold jobs that keep them in the public eye.

The band’s bassist, Beth Turner, works for a Carrboro healthcare nonprofit and served four years on the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners. In 2003 she helped form Girls Rock NC, a Durham-based nonprofit that runs “rock and roll feminist empowerment camps” and programs aimed at getting young girls into music while teaching leadership and independence. Campers, who do not need previous musical experience, form bands and write rock songs.

Melanie Girard, who calls herself the band’s “reluctant drummer” – they needed one when they formed so she volunteered – is the development and communications director for the Chatham Council on Aging, and owns Grapevine Realty Services.

Along with The Unmentionables, Tracy plays in a duet with local guitarist Dave Smith and the duo recently released a CD, “Iron Gate.” While Melanie and Beth picked up music as adults, Tracy learned to play as a girl.

“I stole my brother’s Sears’ Kay acoustic, refinished it and bought an ‘Easy Guitar’ for Beatles and taught myself how to play when I was 13,” she says. “It was a coping mechanism for growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania. It was the only thing that saved me.”

Her first public performance was as a junior in high school when she played ‘Needle and the Damage Done’ for her school talent show. The Neil Young lament to addiction did not win the school show, but Tracy kept playing.

“I was a wicked guitar player by the time I was 20. Then something terrible happened,” Tracy says. “I let my confidence drop and I became a closet musician for 15 years.

“It was really getting together with [Melanie and Beth], playing on a screen porch, that got me starting to write complete songs and break out my electric guitar, which I hadn’t done in a while.” - MW CM 44

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April/May 2018

PHOTO BY MICHAEL R. HAYES

T

racy Lynn describes the music she and her friends write for their band, The

TH E WOM E N’S IS S UE

Beth Turner, Melanie Girard and Tracy Lynn formed the Unmentionables two years ago. They play only songs they write themselves, many of which, they say, are about people around Chatham.

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Chatham Central horticulture teacher Chris Hart checks on hanging baskets that will be sold at the school's spring sale, which runs April 7 through early June.

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Andrew Hicks and Carter Willett, both seniors, transfer plants ahead of the spring sale.

and other vegetables to perennials like candytufts and rosemary.

“It’s completely student-run and student-maintained,” says Chris Hart, a teacher at Chatham Central who has run the horticulture program for seven years. “The kids are responsible for a crop. They see that crop all the way through the production cycle.”

With the transplanting done, Andrew, Dylan and their classmates look after the plants every day until early April, when the greenhouses open to the public for the school’s annual plant sale. The sale, which dates back generations

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greenhouse management course. “We get to do a lot of hands-on stuff outside.”

The school’s plethora of plants span four greenhouses and a nursery and include almost any plant an amateur gardener could want, from potted flowers and hanging baskets to herbs and vegetables, shrubs and other landscaping plants.

The program holds three sales per year. The largest is the spring sale, which opens April 7 and runs through early June. The program also holds a fall sale that includes wintertime plants like mums, ER WINN pansies and kale and a poinsettia sale near Christmas. Chris says HAIR • SKIN • BODY • NAILS L PEL HIL A H C preparations for the sale keep his OF students working in the greenhouses all year. “Even my introductory-level students, we’ll get them involved,” he says. “And their involvement gets more in-depth as they go on in the program.”

Chatham Central’s greenhouses are near and dear to Chris. He participated in the program as a student in the early aughts and now oversees the approximately 100 students who help maintain the greenhouses year-round. While most of his students don’t go on to careers in horticulture, Chris says the lessons they learn in his classes will serve them wherever they end up. Some horticulture skills directly translate to other agriculture-based jobs, like landscaping or the area's longstanding poultry industry. But even students who will never plant JANE IREDALE | SURFACE | L’OREAL | BUMBLE & BUMBLE | SKINCEUTICALS another seed take away strong life Microblading | Make-up | Facials | Manicures & Pedicures | Bride & Groom Hair | and More! skills.

“They need to be able to hear The Galleria | 400 S. Elliott Rd. | Suite K | Chapel Hill directions one time and be able to 919.968.8548 | minasstudio.com | follow them,” Chris says. “Learning

at Chatham Central, expects to draw hundreds. Both Andrew and Dylan have taken horticulture classes all four years of high school, seeding, transplanting and growing thousands of plants.

“You’re not just going to be stuck in a classroom in a chair,” says Andrew, who is enrolled in the advanced studies

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to take pride in their work. On the plants, all the labels have to be at the front, the plants need to be grouped together. Some of the stuff, it’s not that it’s not taught in a traditional classroom, but we’re set up for it. It’s expressed a little bit easier.”

Chris says he makes improvements to the program each year with proceeds from annual sales, which roll directly back into the program.

In addition to paying for supplies, equipment and maintenance, Chris has made improvements to the greenhouses that make them more efficient. The program has also sent students to leadership conferences across the country.

After the spring sale, Chris and his students will immediately start work on preparing plants for the fall sale. There aren't plans to expand the program anytime soon. “This is enough to keep us busy,” Chris says.

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H O M E A ND GA R D E N

how does your garden grow? with these tips Three local gardening pros share advice and secrets for getting new gardens started and established ones blooming this spring

When should people start planting spring flowers?

Katie “We usually

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advise people to plant spring perennials in fall and the fall perennials in the spring. It gives the Jenn Cure, owner plants more time of Cure Nursery, to get their roots and Katie Davis. established.”

However with a bit of extra attention spring flowers planted later will be fine. “[In that case] you should give the plants about 2 inches of water every week until the roots are established.”

John “After the last frost date, which

is around mid to late April.” John says late frosts can often take people off guard and wipe out flowers that have been planted outside.

Hillary “Spring flowers start the season

or two before they bloom. Flowers are the main event but the plants need time to put down a good root system and plenty of leaves to make that show happen.” Perennial flowers, shrubs and grasses can be planted after they go dormant in the fall and winter, while cool-season bedding annuals are best planted in late February and March.

“By April, all your hard work from last fall and winter should be evident by the solid carpet of blooms!”

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What are the best types of flowers to plant in April and May? How about vegetables?

Hillary “By April

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Favorites are begonias, dahlias, elephant ears and several varieties of lilies. Spring is also perfect for planting perennial fruiting crops and any warm season crops. “Any time after April 15th, our average last frost date, plant away!”

Katie Bloodroot, green and gold, and

Jacob’s ladder. “Later in the spring things like milkweeds are going to do well.” Cure Nursery protects any herb or vegetable seed until temperatures hit 65 degrees. Start any vegetables in April indoors.

John Warm season annuals or

perennials. Vegetables, herbs and some fruiting plants also can start this time of year. Raspberries and blueberries tend to do particularly well.

What are the biggest mistakes you see amateur gardeners make?

Katie “Soil amendment! A lot of people

just dig right into the clay. But the good

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H O ME A ND G ARDE N

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thing about native plants is that they can take that a lot of the time.” Visit the County Extension Office for great information, soil test kits and, often, free soil samples.

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“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary, is that little extra.”

John If you must plant in clay, allow

plenty of room to grow and good drainage.

What tips do you have for amateur gardeners?

John “Bigger stores

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Hillary also says that tucking marigolds, celosia, basil and zinnias around vegetable plants can entice beneficial pollinators to your garden and ensure good fruit set and insect control.”

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deer.” Deer-resistant plants like aromatic plants and buckeye are a good way to keep them out. “And if you’re nervous, don’t be afraid to throw a tomato cage around the plants.” CM

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safe at home an abandoned bank turned living space

W

hile living in Raleigh and finishing a career in sales, Tom Lewis decided he needed a garage-like building to store his collection of cars. “I wanted a place to play and tinker,” he says. That led him to Moncure, where the town’s old fire station was for sale. He bought it and moved his collection of Mercedes into the station’s bays.

But it wasn’t a home.

“I couldn’t find a house in Moncure that wasn’t what I call a ‘D9’” Tom says. “D9” is a type of bulldozer, which is what he thought most of the houses he toured needed.

Then he heard the local Fidelity Bank was closing and might be for sale. He asked for a tour, and when he walked in, he had a vision.

“The manager’s office could be my master bedroom, this other area could be a second bedroom,” Tom says. And then, of course, there was the vault and its giant stainless steel door. Rather than remove or hide it, he made the Mosler door the centerpiece of his living room. Installed in 1967, the vault door likely weighs around two tons, though it swings smoothly on huge hinges. Unlike home vaults or shelters built today, the hinges sit flush with both the door and the steel frame, which is almost a foot deep. The Mosler Safe Company began making safes in the 1800s and was the leading choice of banks and government mega-projects throughout the 20th century. A Mosler vault once housed the U.S. Constitution in the National Archives, and they have been documented to survive nuclear explosions. Tom’s vault remains fully functional, with a working two-dial

combination lock, which he mostly leaves open. To match the vault’s vintage appearance, Tom finished the living room with art deco flourishes that suggest mid-century style, including a stereo system that, by coincidence, he purchased in 1967, the same year the vault was installed. Its retro look, topped by a record player, suggest that era while wood floors and blocky rugs reflect the vault’s strong, elegant design.

The vault is 12 feet by 8 feet, Tom says, big enough for a cabinet and other storage (Fidelity took the safety deposit boxes with them). Next to the vault is the original, single-pane drive-up window.

No longer a place of business, the wide glass floods the living room with light.

“I call it my bay window,” Tom says. 

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4 GR EA T R OOM S

rolling a perfect room a kitchen that’s a perfect strike

A

sign mounted over the renovated kitchen of Jamie and Lisa Hitmar’s home says “Northcott Pegs,” a cryptic title with no obvious ties to the couple’s rebuilt farm home, their unique kitchen table made from an old bowling alley floor or even their window cleaning business.

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But as it turns out, the sign is the inspiration behind all of it.

“That was the business that inspired us to go into business for ourselves,” Lisa says. “It’s a business in New Hampshire.

We saw a show on them, and it’s a family who hated their jobs and the stress in corporate America, and decided to make wood pegs for timber frame homes.”

Now known as Northcott Wood Turning (the website is pegs.us), the company is renowned in the timber home industry for precisely cut wood pieces that connect the logs of log homes.

“It struck us,” Lisa says. “How could we take control of our own time and destiny and start a business?”

At the time, the Hitmars lived in Ohio, working as teachers.

They contacted the Northcotts, who were supportive, and soon the couple was flipping houses. They moved nine times in the next few years, bouncing from one home-rehabilitation project to the next. They arrived in Chatham three years ago, starting Fish Window Cleaning, and began renovating their current home, which Lisa says will be their last.

“It had some surprises for sure,” she says. “Like it used to be closer to the road.” The 1870s-era house, which sits on seven acres and overlooks a pond, was moved in the 1970s about 100 yards and attached to the property’s barn. The home gained both a view of the pond and significant square footage in the move. The barn is now the couple’s great room, which includes the kitchen, its sign and a stove hood built from the barn’s original floorboards.

But the centerpiece is the island. For legs, the couple cut an old milling shaft in half and used original joists from the barn.

The top is a piece of 2-inch-thick wood from a bowling lane they picked up when an alley closed in Akron, Ohio.

“We’ve carried this thing for many years,” Lisa says. “Now, finally, it has a home.” 

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glass art house a home where light comes in colors

K

aren Dalton learned to make

stained glass in Hollywood, Florida in her 20s after she and two cousins outfitted their own studio and taught themselves. One went on to be a jeweler in Italy while Karen moved to North Carolina in 1978 and started her own studio overlooking the Haw River.

She keeps her home private – for years, she says, she patiently explained

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4 GRE A T R O O M S

to visitors wanting a look inside that it is her house, not a showroom.

But some of her work can be seen around Chatham, like a guitar in City Tap. For that, she bought a guitar, took the top off and refit it with a musical-themed stained glass cover.

She mounted a light inside the body to make the piece glow.

These days, she works on projects of her own design or on commission.

She once sold her wares at local art shows and festivals, but no more.

“I just do my own work for myself and people who really want something,” says Karen. 

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4 GR EA T R OOM S

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4 GRE A T R O O M S

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“We wanted four seasons but not the awful winter part,” Debbie says.

Brian, who retired from a corporate career, went to Duke University as an undergrad and loved the region, while their son attended Wake Forest University and their daughter Elon University. They also have relatives in Briar Chapel and Governors Village. So when they moved into a home on 12 acres in Lystra Preserve, a pool and a pool house were their first additions.

“Our house is kind of a modern farmhouse so we wanted to mimic that,” Debbie says. “We knew we wanted it to be kind of its own standalone ‘house-ish’, so when

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people come to visit they can stay there.”

Debbie and Brian worked with Bold Construction on a plan by Raleigh architect Michael Booth, improvising as they went. “The original plans didn’t have any [air conditioning equipment] in them, so we decided it would be a cool feature to expose the ducts and make it more industrial,” Debbie says. “We winged it on the outdoor fireplace, we winged it on the paneling. Not a lot was set in stone.”

What they now have is a wide, bright room for gathering, with the fun of both kinds of “pool” – swimming is just steps away, while a gray-clothed pool table sits inside.

A sign in a corner says “Rabbits for Sale $2,” – a hint at Debbie’s habit of collecting rabbit memorabilia.

“From April to September, we’re out there every single day,” she says. CM

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NEI GHBOR HOO D P R O F IL E

Living in

Governors Club

One of our original planned communities evolves as new families arrive

BY MATT WHITE

O

n a recent Wednesday night, Trey and RamonaLisa Robertson and their daughter Emily, 10, arrived at the front door of the Governors Club main

clubhouse for what’s become a weekly routine: Governors Club kids night. Governors Club, a community which for years sold itself as a golf-centered neighborhood, now holds ‘kids night’ on Wednesday at the community’s central clubhouse, with babysitting services provided while parents eat at the main restaurant.

“It’s become our weekly family tradition,” says RamonaLisa.

They weren’t the only family taking advantage. As the

Trey, RamonaLisa and Emily, 10, have been residents for almost a decade and regularly tap into the new family-focused activities.

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N EI GHBOR HO O D P R O F IL E

# outside Chapel Hill: extended, multi-generation families who, as young children are born, choose to be closer together by moving in.

That trend, says Governors Club COO Doug Shifflett, has accelerated recently. “We’ve probably had eight to ten member-families join in the last year where either [adult] children had located here and grandparents moved in or grandparents were already here and a young family moved in with children,” he says.

The Robertsons have been a multi-generation family in Governors Club for the better part of a decade, connecting around the

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NE I GHBOR HOO D P R O F IL E

neighborhood’s 27-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.

“We’re an active golf family,” says RamonaLisa. “Coming from California, golf rounds were very expensive, very long and usually very windy. We figured this was our chance to live in a community like this that would have been very much out of reach in the Bay Area.”

Soon after the Robertsons arrived, Trey’s parents, Chris and Duane Robertson, moved from Pinehurst. All three generations play together and both parents have

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JUST THE FACTS:

Governors Club Style of Houses Governors Club has 1,200 home sites, about 250 remain unimproved.

Higher-end homes are custom built and feature a wide variety of designs including colonial, contemporary, Tudor, and Cape Cod styles.

The neighborhood is built around a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, with many lots fitting into the contours of the land.

The neighborhood has abundant landscaping and greenspaces, a community pool, tennis courts and clubhouse.

Some sections have their own amenities.

Where? The community is 13 miles north of Pittsboro and just over three miles south of 15501 on Mount Carmel Church Road, and about five miles south of UNC and Franklin Street.

Schools North Chatham Elementary, Margaret Pollard Middle School,

NEI GH BO RHOOD PROFILE

and Northwood High School. Willow Oak Montessori Charter is directly opposite the neighborhood in Governors Village, and St. Thomas More Catholic School is seven miles north.

their own regular games on weekends.

“I play on Saturdays and Trey plays on Sundays,” says RamonaLisa. “We divide and conquer.”

Another family with several generations in Governors Club is Tony and Julia Molina, whose family tree in the neighborhood even has separate branches. The couple arrived in 2003, joining Tony’s brother, Paul Molina, a radiologist at UNC, who had been in Governors Club a decade. Tony regularly boasted about the

Property Tax Rate As of 2017, the property tax rate in Governors Club is $.73 per $100 of assessed value, the sum of $.63 to Chatham County and $.10 to North Chatham fire district.

Lot Size Home sites range from a quarter-acre to several acres.

Price Prices range from the mid-$300,000s to the millions of dollars.

Examples of homes currently for sale include: a 2,629-square-feet four-bedroom house on Alexander Drive listed at $450,000; a 4,745-squarefeet four-bedroom on Stone Brook for $655,000; a 5,230-square-feet fourbedroom on Ludwell for $1,274,000; and a 9,220-square-feet fivebedroom house for $2,500,000.

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N EI GHBOR HO O D P R O F IL E

neighborhood’s lush landscaping, private streets and quiet lifestyle. It sounded peaceful, even.

But in 2012, the couple had twins, Aurora and Ashton, and Tony’s parents promptly moved into the neighborhood as well, leaving Aldersgate in Chapel Hill.

Now, says Tony, peace and quiet is hard to find in their corner of Governors Club.

“My house is the center of attention,” says Tony. Both he and Julia are dentists with seperate practices in Wake County. “Everyone comes over to endure the noise and racket.”

Of course, a noisy home is often the price – and just as often, the goal – of living in the same neighborhood.

But several recent changes around Governors Club are aimed at giving kids more to do.

“We hired a full-time youth activity director to create family programming that we have year round for kids,” says Doug. “Our junior golf and junior tennis have expanded quite a bit.” A new golf instructor, says Doug, has started competitive teams for children in the neighborhood.

The youth and family movement, says Doug, “is indicative of the club industry as a whole. We think of ourselves as a lifestyle club, for families that have kids and who don’t have kids.”

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NE I GHBOR HOO D P R O F IL E

IN EVERY ISSUE

Governors Club opened for golf and home development in the late 1980s and the 42,000-squarefoot clubhouse followed in 1995. As homes, many custom-built, began to pop up, the neighborhood soon gained a reputation as a destination-community not just for golf fans but among UNC faculty and RTP workers.

Today, the community is about 80% built out, with about 250 homesites still available.

From the neighborhood’s main gated entrance off Farrington Point Road, the development’s central street, Governors Drive, winds through precipitous hills as stately executive-style homes wink in and out of the rugged terrain. At the center of the neighborhood is Edwards Mountain, where the “Grand Estates” of the Highland Pond section sit. Homes here, with views for miles over Chatham and Chapel Hill, can sell for millions of dollars, but elsewhere within the neighborhood’s 1,600 acres, properties can start as low as the mid-six figures. Property owners can opt to not join the golf club, which also provides access to the gym, pool and tennis courts, but 70% of those who live in the community do, says Doug. When the club held its 25th Anniversary, Jack Nicklaus returned to help celebrate.

More changes are afoot in Governors Club. The main clubhouse, which served 48,000 meals in 2017, is undergoing a $3 milllion renovation this year. And the explosion in Chatham real estate is being driven not by mid-career or near-retiree couples but by developments like Briar Chapel and the growing hub of Pittsboro which cater to young families, often followed quickly by grandparents. And Governors Club is shifting to welcome them.

“In the nine and half years we’ve lived here, we’ve definitely seen an increase in younger membership moving in,” says RamonaLisa. “When we first moved here, I dont think there was as big a focus for a younger community. I think it was a place where people who retired and came to live. But we’re definitely attracting younger members with families, which is wonderful.” CM 80

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Real Estate Gallery Homes • Condos • Apartments

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We asked tourism experts where to spend some time along the N.C. coast this spring and summer Kure Beach

cemented together with seashells and coral.

If you’re interested in increasing your aquatic life sightings, a trip to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Year Founded 1947 | Population 2,109 Fisher is a must. Not only is the aquarium home to sharks, rays, eels VISITORS CAN TOUR across six and a rare albino miles of protected shoreline that alligator, it also offers behind-thespans from the beach to the sound scenes tours for an insider look at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. at the aquarium. For rest and While on the hike, relaxation away from the mainland, travel through hop in a small boat, canoe or “We enjoy the pier unspoiled at @kurebeachnc.” kayak and paddle to Zeke’s Island paradise, JEROME YOUNG, Reserve. This shorebird habitat @JEROMEHANDYMAN historic consists of three islands that boast battlegrounds natural tidal flats, marshes, dunes PHOTO COURTESY WILMINGTON AND BEACHES CVB dating back to and native shorebirds like great blue the Civil War era and view the herons, dunlin and black-bellied plovers, to name a few. legendary Hermit’s bunker. If you’ve never heard of a wilmingtonandbeaches.com/kure-beach coquina rock formation, it is the definition of a true hidden Did You Know Fort Fisher, located at the south end of Kure gem, which can be found at low tide along the Kure Beach Beach, was a Confederate fort and is the site of the largest ocean shore. This unique structure dates back more than 12,000 years and is host to a rare, mossy, hard rock outcrop land-sea battle of the Civil War. 82

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BALD HEAD ISLAND LIMITED

hidden gems

Bald Head Island Year Founded The Village of Bald Head Island was

incorporated as a municipality in 1985 | Population The year-round population is around 220 full-time residents. In the summer, the island population can swell to around 5,000, including vacationers.

YOU’LL LEAVE YOUR CAR on the mainland and travel to the island’s shores via a 20-minute ferry ride, making for a natural transition to “island time.” As your pace slows, take in the lush surroundings – miles of quiet beaches, a rare maritime forest and serpentine tidal creeks. The island’s Federal Road, which once was used to bring supplies down to the Cape Fear Light, tunnels through the maritime forest canopy. Tucked discreetly along this road, you’ll find the Bald Head Woods nature trail, where a short hike leads to the Timmons Oak, a massive, severalhundred-year-old tree.

For a small donation, you can join

“There’s a pirate week my parents get really excited for.

Every local Wilmington actor w[ith] a pirate character is there.”* ERICA LANE

rewarded with a sweeping view of Cape Fear. Another hidden gem is the Old Boathouse in Bald Head Creek. The structure, which dates to the turn of the last century, is a favorite photo op for kayakers. baldheadisland.com Did You Know No bridge connects Bald Head Island to the mainland. There are no cars on the island, apart from service vehicles, and the speed limit is 18 mph.

Duck Year Founded Incorporated in 2002 Population 500 year-round

THE TOWN IS DARE COUNTY’S northernmost community and also the Outer Banks’ newest town – though hunters and gamesmen have been flocking to the area since the 1800s in pursuit of the abundant waterfowl that gives Duck its namesake. Today, that same rich ecology sets the tone

PHOTO COURTESY OUTER BANKS VISITORS BUREAU

the Bald Head Island Conservancy, located at the end of Federal Road, and join up on a bird walk that takes you to Ibis Pond Sanctuary, a hidden freshwater lagoon where scores of ibises, egrets and herons roost. Captain’s Watch Trail, located off Federal Road, leads you to Captain Charlie’s Station, three lighthouse keeper’s cottages that date back to 1903. The cottages can’t be seen from the road, but when you arrive at the top of the dune they’re perched on, you’re April/May 2018

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step off the mainland and on to one of three state-operated ferries to the island. Travelers can drive their cars aboard the ferry, park and then head to the front to take in the breeze and the occasional dolphin. Ocracoke Village covers one square mile of the island and is home to the island’s yearround residents. The town was founded as a fishing village and continues to be home to a thriving fishing community, as well as restaurants and shops where tourists can spend a day

treasure is the Duck boardwalk that winds along the water’s edge on the west side of the island. In late afternoon, this is the place to be.

Bounded by the Currituck Sound to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the area offers ample opportunities to kayak, Jet Ski and wind surf. The beach affords great shell collecting opportunities, especially in the off-season when the pickings are yours.

At the north end of the town, the Army Research Pier is a fascinating attraction worth an afternoon tour. The facility was created to study the dynamic processes of barrier islands. Over the years, a wealth of data gathered during hurricanes and Nor’easters have helped planners and builders better understand the impact of wind, water and waves on coastal construction. outerbanks.org

and get to know the locals.

Ocracoke Island’s beaches are all part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (operated by the National Park Service), so they are – and will remain – completely undeveloped, with no houses or highrises in view. The beaches on this beautiful island are perfect for swimming, surfing, surf fishing and boating all year long.

The island’s ponies are descendants of 16th century horses thrown from shipwrecks in the sound. In the 1950s, the

Ocracoke Year founded: 1753 | Population: Around 1,000 year-round AN OCRACOKE ISLAND vacation starts the second visitors 84

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PHOTO COURTESY DONNALLY & AUSTIN PHOTOGRAPHY

for numerous watersports and outdoor adventures, fine dining and eclectic shopping that thousands enjoy each year. A very popular walking cycling trail runs parallel to Highway 12. Another coastal

“We’re big fans of @DuckOBX. Beautiful spacious beaches, quaint town. Visit the sound-side boardwalk for nature, kayak put-ins and kids’ playground. @DuckDonuts is a must as is Kitty Hawk Sports. And Wee Winks for all your grocery and beach needs.”

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local Boy Scout troop tamed and trained some of the horses – the troop was the only mounted Boy Scout troop in the U.S. visitocracokenc.com

“Eduardo’s Taco Stand is incredible! Also love the beer/ wine/snack selection and easygoing atmosphere at @Zillies.” RACHEL COOK, @RACHELCOOK92

Did You Know Ocracoke was a favorite spot of many pirates, including the legendary Blackbeard. The shallow waters of Pamlico Sound off the island provided a great hiding spot, so Blackbeard spent much time there and finally met his demise during a battle in 1718. CM

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dream(er) an American

Brought to the U.S. at 3, Jonathan Aguilar – top of his high school class with a full ride to Duke – is aware that his ultimate goal of medical school may not be in his own hands

BY MATT WHITE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY HILLARY GRAVES

J

onathan Aguilar started performing in musical productions

at Jordan-Matthews High School in 10th grade, appearing in “Footloose” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” But he was ecstatic in 2017 when, for his senior year, the school put on “In The Heights.” After previous years in traditional shows, “In The Heights” reflected a world he recognized.

“It’s so Latino-oriented and it’s all about immigrants, and the songs all have some Spanish,” Jonathan says and adds with a grin, “There’s a lot of Spanish cuss words.”

“In The Heights” is the creation of Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote and produced the show a decade before

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AN A M ER I CA N D R E A M

“I AWOKE TO THE BLARING SOUND OF THE ALARM...

I GOT UP, GR ABBED MY SAD EXCUSE OF A BOOK BAG, CLOAKED MYSELF IN A BLANKET, AND STEPPED OUTSIDE INTO THE FREEZING MORNING AIR... THIS WAS OUR DEFINITION OF LIVING THE ‘AMERICAN DREAM.’”

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becoming a household name as the writer and star of “Hamilton.” Like that blockbuster, “In The Heights” features hip-hop and themes of social ambition in immigrant characters to tell the story of Nina Rosario.

Nina is accepted to Stanford University, becoming the first in her neighborhood to go to college – or “the one who made it out”. Jonathan played Kevin, Nina’s father. In an early solo, Kevin lays out the show’s underlying message in a song called “Inútil!” (“Useless!”). He vows to make a life for his family that’s better than the one he has known.

“I am talking about how ‘useless’ I am to my family if I fail,” Jonathan says. “But I want to change that.”

As he nears graduation, Jonathan recognizes “In The Heights” as a story much like his own – though he faces a future which could, for reasons beyond his control, be snapped away. He’ll graduate from Jordan-Matthews this spring at the top of his class. Last fall, he was accepted to Duke University and awarded a highly competitive scholarship that will pay his full tuition, room and board, a bill that might easily clear $70,000 per year at the Durham

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AN A M ER I CA N D R E A M

“I WILL NOT BE THE REASON / THAT MY FAMILY CAN’T SUCCE ED / I WILL DO WHAT IT TAKES / THEY’LL HAVE EVERYTHING THEY NEED / OR ALL M Y WORK, ALL MY LIFE / EVERYTHING I’VE SACRIFICED WILL HAVE BEEN USELESS” “INÚTIL!” FROM “IN THE HEIGHTS”

BY LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA university. He plans to eventually go to medical school.

But, if national political winds shift against him, those plans may come crashing down. Jonathan is not a U.S. citizen and holds residency status under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The program protects immigrants brought to the U.S. as young children, usually by family. Last year, President Trump announced he was canceling the program, and Congress has yet to pass a permanent version. Jonathan’s status is valid through March of 2019, late in what should be his freshman year at Duke. Recent legal rulings have put Trump’s move on hold, but the long-term fate of DACA recipients – sometimes dubbed “Dreamers” in the news – is far from decided.

Jonathan’s mother, Nancy, brought him to the U.S. as a 3-year-old.

Neither Nancy nor Jonathan spoke English when they arrived in Siler City, where they stayed with family.

His father has been in Mexico for most of his life, deported after an arrest. At Siler City Elementary, Jonathan joined the school’s firstever dual-language class under then principal Angie Brady-Andrew. He credits the program as a vital lifeline 90

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A N A M ER IC A N D R E A M

A Medical Practice that Breaks The Mold

during his chaotic early years, allowing him to find his bearings and learn English. Angie, now the principal at Silk Hope Elementary, has followed Jonathan’s rise to the top of his class. “I’m not surprised but very excited,” she says. “He’s going to make a path for himself in the world, just like he did when he was 5 years old.”

Nancy says her son always had a knack for the classroom and an independent drive. “All the time, the teachers say, ‘You know, your son is very smart,’” she says. “He never asked me to help him with school projects or anything else. Never.”

As Jonathan and his sister, Marelyn, now 10, grew, Nancy worked a variety of jobs, first in local chicken processing plants, then cleaning rooms in Asheboro and waitressing in Pittsboro. Jonathan would rise at 4:45 a.m. as Nancy departed for work. When it came time to apply to college, he wrote about those days in application essays, recalling: “I awoke to the blaring sound of the alarm... I got up, grabbed my sad excuse of a book bag, cloaked myself in a blanket, and stepped outside into the freezing morning air.

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Jonathan played Kevin Rosario in “In The Heights,” his school musical last fall.

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In middle school, he began taking charge of his life in every way he could. One was food. As a kid, Nancy would buy him McDonald’s or ice cream as a reward for good school work – and he was a very good student.

“In my eighth grade year, I was 230 pounds,” says Jonathan. He decided to make a change. “I started eating healthy. By the start of high school in September, I was 140.

People didn’t even recognize me.” On the first day of high school, a teacher who knew his family and had seen pictures of him refused to believe it was him. For Jonathan, the massive

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A N A MERI CAN DRE AM

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weight loss was part of a bigger puzzle he was solving in his head: the question of who he was going to be.

“I started fresh in high school,” he says.

Nancy remembers that he also started to make promises about changing both of their lives. “He always used to say, ‘I want to be a doctor.’ He would say, ‘One day I am going to take you away from all these things, mom,’” she says. “But you know, kids dream. They dream but you just think to yourself, ‘You don’t know how hard is life. It’s not so easy as it looks.’”

Jonathan found choir and musical theater as a sophomore and earned nearly all As, except for one B in AP U.S. History as a junior, taught by Jay Palmer. Palmer says the class is his most challenging, with constant tests and long reading assignments.

Jonathan earned the B, Jay says, but the teacher knew he was on his way to something special.

“Jonathan was always at the high end of the intelligence spectrum,” says Jay. “I would tell him, ‘I was thinking you need this [higher] grade, maybe work a little harder.’ A lot of kids these days, they know they can get an A at 90 or an A at a 100 and they’re comfortable at the minimum.

He’s not that kinda kid, he’s not gonna want to just get by. He’s going to want to be the best he can.”

By his junior year, counselors began talking to Jonathan about college. “I never thought about it

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“HE ALWAYS USED TO SAY, ‘I WANT TO BE A DOCTOR.’ HE WOULD SAY, ‘ONE DAY I AM GOING TO TAKE YOU AWAY FROM ALL THESE THINGS, MOM,’” SHE SAYS. “BUT YOU KNOW, KIDS DREAM. THEY DREAM BUT YOU JUST THINK TO YOURSELF, ‘YOU DON’T KNOW HOW HARD IS LIFE. IT’S NOT SO EASY AS IT LOOKS.’”

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before because I knew there was no way to afford it,” he says. Though college is rarely cheap, it would be particularly onerous due to his DACA status. No matter how good his grades or how many plays he might star in, he would be ineligible for a long list of financial aid, from federal and state student loans to many prestigious scholarships, like the Morehead-Cain. In fact, North Carolina is one of about 30 states that bar DACA-status students from in-state tuition at state schools like UNC. Still, he told Nancy he would find a way.

“One day he told me, ‘You will never pay for me,’” she says. “‘I will never ask [anybody] for my tuition.’ I just didn’t answer him.”

As a junior, Jonathan connected with the N.C. Sli center at UNC, a mentoring program for Latino students in rural counties who might not consider college within reach.

Counselors visit schools to help students with college applications and financial aid forms. A counselor there encouraged him to look at Duke, whose deep pockets provide significant financial aid, and to apply for the Golden Door scholarship.

Aimed primarily at DACA students who live in states that bar in-state tuition, the Golden Door covers full tuition and housing costs. The final interview for the scholarship was outside Charlotte. When Jonathan and Nancy arrived, they were stunned

A N A M ER IC A N D R E A M

to learn over 300 students were invited to the interview. And as he worked his way through a panel of officials, Jonathan soon realized that the answers he typically used in other admissions interviews would not work here.

“The thing was, everyone there was DACA,” says Jonathan. “You can’t just say, ‘I’m the minority, I’m the immigrant’ – all of us are immigrants!” Instead, he says, when he met the sternest of the interviewers, “I told him, ‘I want this scholarship not just for myself, but to change my whole family’s outcome.’”

A few weeks later, as he worked a shift at Elizabeth’s Pizza in Pittsboro, he got a call telling him he’d gotten the scholarship. Duke was suddenly a reality. He thought back to “Inútil!,” which he’d sung the night before his final interview: I will not be the reason That my family can’t succeed I will do what it takes They’ll have everything they need Or all my work, all my life Everything I’ve sacrificed will have been useless “It was really emotional to sing that,” says Jonathan.

Nancy was in the audience.

After the show, she hugged her son.

“I said to him, ‘Now you feel what I feel.’” CM

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restaurants, delis and bistros (advertisers highlighted)

North Chatham Briar Chapel

501 Pharmacy Scoops of Maple View Farm ice cream, plus malts and shakes.

98 Chapelton Ct., Ste. 300; 984-999-0501; 501rx.com Alberello Café & Market / Oakleaf Until sister eatery Oakleaf’s new space opens, Alberello’s Florentine sandwiches, pastas, desserts and more are available for lunch while Oakleaf’s farm-to-table menu specializing in French and Italian cuisine will be served at dinner. 72 Chapelton Ct.; 984-234-3017; alberellonc.com; oakleafnc.com Breakaway Cafe A casual “cyclinginspired” cafe serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and small plates, along with Counter Culture coffee, beer, wine and Maple View ice cream. 58 Chapelton Ct., Ste. 100; 984-234-3010; breakawaync.co Capp’s Pizzeria Artisan pizzas that are hand-crafted and wood-fired utilizing local ingredients. 79 Falling Springs Dr., Ste. 140; 919-240-4104; cappspizzeria.com Town Hall Burger and Beer Gourmet burgers plus shared plates, tacos, wings and salads. 58 Chapelton Ct.; Ste. 140; 984-234-3504; townhallburgerandbeer.com Governors Village China Chef Chinese food to eat in or take out. 50120 Governors Dr.; 919-967-5553 Flair Restaurant & Wine Bar High-quality French-influenced American food, coffee, wine, beer and Sunday brunch. 50100 Governors Dr.; 919-967-9990; flairforfoodrestaurant.com

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taste

Tarantini Italian cuisine. 50160 Governors Dr.; 919-942-4240; tarantinirestaurant.com North Chatham Village/Cole Park Plaza Captain John’s Dockside Fish & Crab House American seafood dishes.

11550 U.S. 15-501 N.; 919-968-7955; captainjohnsdockside.com Marco’s Pizza Traditional Italian dishes and pizzas. 141 Chatham Downs, Ste. 201; 919-391-4090; marcos.com

Moon Asian Bistro Asian fusion restaurant offering sushi, Chinese dishes like sweet-and-sour chicken, Thai curry dishes, rice and noodles.

111 Knox Way., Ste. 100; 919-869-7894; moonasianbistroch.com Panda Garden Chinese dishes like chow mein and egg foo young, dine in or take out; 11312 U.S. Highway 15-501 S., Ste. 303; 919-960-8000; chapelhillpandagarden.com Papa John’s Pizza Pizza crafted with quality. 50010 Governors Dr.; 919-9687272; papajohns.com Guanajuato Mexican Restaurant Mexican dishes with vegetarian options; 11552 U.S. 15-501 N, Ste. 205; 919-9298012; guanajuatomexicanrestaurant.net Village Pizza and Pasta A neighborhood pizza place serving up subs, calzones, pastas and salads, too. 11312 U.S. Hwy. 15-501, Ste. 300; 919-960-3232; villagepizzapasta.com

Pittsboro

U.S. 15-501/Fearrington Village Allen & Son Barbecue N.C. barbecue.

5650 U.S. 15-501; 919-542-2294; stubbsandsonbbq.com Carolina Brewery & Grill Pub-style fare made with local ingredients from places like Boxcarr Handmade Cheese and Lilly Den Farms. 120 Lowes Dr., Ste. 100; 919-545-2330; carolinabrewery.com/ pittsboro Compadres Tequila Lounge Mexican restaurant with a variety of classic dishes.

115 Siler Crossing; 919-663-5600; compadresnc.com The Fearrington House Restaurant Fine-dining French cuisine offering a chef’s tasting menu.

Fearrington Village Center; 919-542-2121; fearrington.com/house

The Belted Goat A coffee and wine shop with paninis, cheeses and pastries.

Fearrington Village Center; 919-545-5717; fearrington.com/ belted-goat

New Japan Hibachi-style Japanese cooking, dine-in or carry-out. 90 Lowes Dr.; 919-542-4380 Papa John’s Pizza Pizza crafted with quality. 120 Lowes Dr.; 919-545-7272; papajohns.com Postal Fish Company Fresh seafood from North Carolina’s coast prepared thoughtfully by chefs James Clark and Bill Hartley. 75 W. Salisbury St.; 919-704-8612.

Roost Beer Garden at Fearrington Village Wood-fired pizza, local brews and live music; 2000 Fearrington Village Center; 919-545-5717; fearrington.com/roost Willy’s Cinnamon Rolls, Etc. Bakery selling cinnamon rolls, scones, muffins, cookies and bread with ’40s and ’50s flair. 35 W. Chatham St.; 252-305-9227.

East Street Bella Donna Classic Italian dishes like bruschetta, lasagna and spaghetti carbonara. 440 East St.; 919-545-0900; belladonnaitalianrestaurant.com China Inn Chinese dishes, dine-in or carry-out. 630 East St.; 919-545-0259 Greek Kouzina Made from scratch hummus, gyros, kebabs and more.

964 East St.; 919-542-9950; greekkouzina.com Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries Burgers, cheesesteaks and frozen custard.

987 East St.; 919-542-1312; hwy55.com/ locations/pittsboro John’s Italian Pizza Restaurant Pizzas, pastas, wraps, calzones and strombolis; 122 Sanford Rd.; 919-542-5027; johnspizzarestaurant.com San Felipe Mexican dishes including fajitas, burritos and combo plates.

630 East St.; 919-542-1008; sanfelipenc.com Small B&B Cafe Farm-to-table breakfast and lunch; 219 East St.; 919-537-1909; smallbandbcafe.com

West Street Al’s Diner Traditional American classics for breakfast, lunch and supper; 535 West St.; 919-542-5800; alsdiner.net Angelina’s Kitchen Seasonal dishes of the Greek and southwestern variety including gyros, rice bowls and family dinners for pick up. 23 Rectory St.; 919-545-5505; angelinaskitchenonline.com Circle City Grill Featuring hamburgers, barbecue and tacos. 517 West St.; 919-704-8998; circlecitygrill.com The Pickle Jar Cafe & Catering Fresh American classics with a twist; 480 Hillsboro St.; 919-663-2757 Pittsboro Roadhouse Hearty American fare like smoke gouda mac n’ cheese, plus burgers and salads. 39 West St.; 919-542-2432; pittsbororoadhouse.com

The Phoenix Bakery Small-batch, seasonal baked goods like apple pie doughnuts, caramel-pecan rolls, scones, cookies and specialty cakes. 664 West St.; 919-542-4452; thephoenixbakerync.com The Root Cellar Sandwiches, prepared salads, desserts and more. 35 Suttles Rd.; 919-542-1062; rootcellarpbo.com S&T’s Soda Shoppe Soda fountain, American fare. 85 Hillsboro St.; 919-545-0007; sandtsodashoppe.com Virlie’s Grill Breakfast, lunch and supper options like biscuits, salads, subs and barbecue. 58 Hillsboro St.; 919-542-0376; virliesgrill.com Chatham Marketplace Buzz Cafe sandwiches, daily changing hot bar, sushi, salads and baked goods. Chatham Mills; 919-542-2643; chathammarketplace.coop Starrlight Mead Tastings of honey wines and honey.

Chatham Mills; 919-533-6314; starrlightmead.com

Hillsboro Street/Downtown Blue Dot Coffee Joe Van Gogh coffee, lattes, smoothies and pastries.

53 Hillsboro St.; 919-704-8064 Café Diem Carrboro Coffee Roasters coffee and espresso offerings, plus tea and alternative milk/sugar-free options.

18B E. Salisbury St.; 919-704-4239; davenports-cafediem.com

Siler City

The City Tap Hoagie and grilled sandwiches, plus classic bar snacks.

89 Hillsboro St.; 919-545-0562; thecitytap.com

Bestfood Steakhouse and Cafeteria Southern comfort food; 220 E. 11th St.; 919-742-2475 (cafeteria), 919-742-6033 (steakhouse); bestfoodsilercity.com

Elizabeth’s Pizza Pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, salads and pasta.

160 Hillsboro St.; 919-545-9292; elizabethspizzapittsboro.com

Brownie Lu’s Restaurant Southern comfort food for breakfast, lunch and dinner; 919 N. Second Ave.; 919-663-3913 Chris’ Drive-in Burgers, hot dogs and fries.

1329 N. Second Ave.; 919-663-2333

The Mod Wood-fired pizza, salads, small plates and a full bar. 46 Sanford Rd.; 919-533-6883; themodernlifedeli.com

Compadres Mexican restaurant with a variety of classic dishes.

115 Siler Crossing; 919-663-5600; compadresnc.com April/May 2018

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D IN I N G GUI D E

Courtyard Coffee and Soda Cafe Coffee, Italian sodas, smoothies and bakery items.

223 N. Chatham Ave.; 919-663-2152

New China Inn Chinese dishes.

Dine-in or carry-out. 203 Chatham Sq.; 919-663-0889

Pazzo! Italian cuisine, takeout pizza.

700 Market St.; 919-929-9984; pazzo-restaurant.com

Dry Dock Seafood A variety of seafood dishes and daily specials. 408 N. Second Ave.; 919-742-2177; drydockseafood.com

San Felipe Mexican dishes including fajitas, burritos and combo plates.

102 Walmart Shopping Ctr.; 919-663-7333; sanfelipenc.com

Rasa Malaysia Authentic Malaysian dishes. 410 Market St.; 984-234-0256; rasamalaysiach.com

Hayley Bales Steakhouse Americanstyle salads, steaks, chicken and seafood. 220 E. 11th St.; 919-742-6033; hayleybalessteakhouse.letseat.at Elizabeth’s Pizza Pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, salads and pasta.

119 Siler Crossing; 919-663-5555; elizabethspizzaofsilercity.com Johnson’s Drive In Burgers, hot dogs and fries on Highway 64 since 1946; 1520 E. 11th St.

Chapel Hill Southern Village

Al’s Burger Shack Gourmet burgers and fries made with local ingredients.

708 Market St.; 919-914-6694; alsburgershack.com

The Town Hall Grill Sandwiches, steak, seafood. 410 Market St.; 919-960-8696; thetownhallgrill.com Weaver Street Market Hot bar and salad bar for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 716 Market St.; 919-929-2009; weaverstreetmarket.coop

La Vita Dolce Café Pastries, sorbet, gelato. 610 Market St., Ste. 101-C; 919-968-1635; lavitadolcecafe.com

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April/May 2018

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also check out these area restaurants Elements Combines classic and modern Asian and European cooking; wine bar next door. 2110 Environ Way, Chapel Hill; 919-537-8780; elementsofchapelhill.com

Babalu Tapas and Tacos Gourmet Mexican. 1800 E. Franklin St., Ste. 16; 984-528-8030; chapelhill.eatbabalu.com

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Maple View Farm Country Store Homemade ice cream and milk.

6900 Rocky Ridge Rd.; 919-960-5535; mapleviewfarm.com Maple View Mobile Ice cream outpost of the Hillsborough dairy farm. 919-244-1949; mapleviewmobile.com

Olio & Aceto Cafe Brunch and lunch options inspired by Blue Sky Oil and Vinegar products. 400 S. Elliott Rd.; 919-903-8958; olioandacetocafe.com

salads and grilled meat, with daily soup and specials. All-day breakfast; vegetarian options; catering. 324 W. St.; 919-967Find us in Eastgate Crossing, next Rosemary to Steinmart 7110; breadmens.com F O O D W O R T H S H A R I N G .™

The Root Cellar Sandwiches, prepared salads, desserts and more. Beer and wine only; outdoor dining. 750 MLK Jr. Blvd.; 919-967-3663; rootcellarchapelhill.com

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DI NI NG GU IDE

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April/May 2018

news bites ONE LAST DIP After seven years of serving italian ice, Little Dipper’s, whose ice was available on the Pittsboro Roadhouse menu and its mobile cart, is closed.

BRIDE’S CHOICE WeddingWire awarded 39 West Catering the Bride’s Choice Award for demonstrating excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. WeddingWire chooses restaurants based on recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 newlyweds.

SPRING IN SILER The Oasis, Siler City’s open air market, held its yearly Spring in Siler event March 31. Sponsored by the Siler City Development Organization, the event featured a farmers market, vendors, musicians and food. Attendees learned about promoting entrepreneurship from the SCDO and saw the Chatham County Sheriff’s Honor Guard.

NEW IN TOWN Pickle Jar Cafe has moved from Silk Hope to Pittsboro. After briefly closing to accomodate the move, the restaurant is up and running in the Chatham Mills spot formerly occupied by Oakleaf.

Circle City Grill opened at 517 West Street in Pittsboro. Featuring hamburgers, barbecue and tacos, the Grill is the creation of Jimmy Stubbs and Lori Golden owners of Allen & Son Barbecue.

WE DDING S

Joyce & Childress B Y A NNA PO GAR CI C PHO TO GRA PHY BY G R I F F I N HAR T D AV I S GRI F F I NDAVI SPH O TO . CO M

S

avannah Joyce and Brooks Childress

met as freshmen at Chatham Central

High School, although Brooks will say

he first saw her when he went to a softball game in eighth grade and she was on first base. The two were best friends through high school, though their classmates all seemed to see a spark they missed, voting them Homecoming King and Queen their senior year. The two finally started dating as college juniors, though Brooks was in Greenville at East Carolina University while Savannah was at Appalachian State University in Boone.

Soon after college, Savannah, now a teacher at Moncure Elementary School, and Brooks invited their parents to their house to celebrate his birthday. When he blew out the candles, everyone asked what he had wished for. He turned to Savannah, said, “I wish for you. You’re the one I want next to me when all my dreams come true,” and dropped to one knee. Their parents, Shelly and Ronnie Joyce and Pam and Tim Fields, were there to witness the moment.

The were married last October on a clear, sunny day at the Whispering Oaks Event Venue in Julian among friends and family.

Planners were Sherry Elmore and Marguerite Moore.

Savannah and Brooks plan to reside in Bonlee with their two dogs, Sophie and Piper, and their cat, Peanut. CM April 2018

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W ED D I N GS

Tiede & Hogan B Y K ET H A N F A D A L E P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y L IT T L E W H IT E DR ESS L W D W ED D ING P H O T O G R A P H Y. C O M

K

aren Tiede and John Hogan don’t share identical

talents, but when they met a dozen years ago,

they quickly realized they were both masters of the uncommon – Karen is an avid hula hooper, while John makes balloon animals.

Karen, an artist and social media marketer in Moncure, and John, a flight simulator technician at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, were riding John’s motorcycle in mid-June along a portion of the 469-milelong Blue Ridge Parkway when they stopped to examine a map. “We’re going to ride this whole thing!” Karen exclaimed, loving the view and the Parkway.

“Not today,” said John.

“Someday?” Karen asked.

“On our honeymoon,” John replied.

The couple continued along the Blue Ridge Parkway and arrived at the Soco Craft & Tower in Maggie Valley.

At the top of the tower, John felt the time was right, so he got down on one knee, and committed to many future travels with Karen –including the rest of the Parkway.

He hadn’t even bought a ring, so in the gift shop at the bottom of the tower, he spied a candy ring and bought it for $18.

Their wedding and reception took place at the Terrace Room in Goldsboro. For the ceremony, Karen’s nephew Tim Swicord played piano while Barbara Moore officiated.

Karen’s parents, Herb and Hazel Tiede, watched as Karen wore her grandmother’s wedding ring, reshaped by Mark Andrews Jewelry, and a vintage dress bought from Beggars & Choosers, altered by the bride herself.

Karen and John now split time between Moncure and Goldsboro, depending on their hula hoop or balloon animal commitments. CM

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April 2018

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