Life in Our Foothills, June 2017, Tryon Newsmedia, Tryon Daily Bulletin

life in our foothills

JUNE 2017

LANDRUM QUILT SHOW

Piecing together modern and traditional

June 2017

MAGNIFICENT BRAIDED MONSTER of Melrose Avenue

SAM THE A WALK THROUGH HISTORY THERAPY DOG From foundling to hero

Saluda Tour of Historic Homes

Welcome to LIfe in Our Foothills

Blankets of love

W

hen I was born, my grandmother, great grandmother and their circle of quilting friends went to work on a full-sized quilt that would become mine when I moved out of the crib and into a bed. Each woman made their own square unique using a wild variety of patterned fabric, and -- the part I like the best – they signed their names and mine to it and stitched over the signatures with thread.

The juxtaposition of the orderly arrangement of squares with the varying signatures is something I’ve not seen since, but it’s what makes my quilt a personalized piece of art and not just a utilitarian blanket. It connects me with not only the women of my family, but with a different time and era.

When Ellen Henderson sent in the photos to go with her story about the Landrum Quilt Show (see page 14 and on our cover) I was amazed, and you will be, too! The talent and imagination on display is stunning. Although I’m not a quilter, I have done other forms of needlework over my life, and I can appreciate the time, care and detail that went into each one.

From quilts that hearken back to the traditional styles of our grandmothers to avant-garde, modern art designs, the vision and imagination these quilters have is beautiful and fascinating. Kudos to all of the quilters who will have their work on display at the show, June 8-10 at Landrum Middle School.

Also, the City of Landrum, the Landrum Area Business Association, Spartanburg District One and Spartanburg County Parks deserve acknowledgment for supporting the efforts of the Landrum Quilters who organize this event every two years drawing about 1,000 people from 13 states and five countries to Landrum over a three-day period.

Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, visit the Foothills Quilt Trail, either virtually at FoothillsQuiltTrail.com, or in person. The website will give you location listings for all the blocks on the trail in and around Landrum, which now number 38, and a bit of history. The 39th block will go up later this summer at Southside Smokehouse.

Meanwhile, school’s out this month, and it’s time to play. Check out the calendar of events on page 6 for music, parties, picnics, art shows, wine, photography, dancing under the stars, and much more!

As always, I welcome your comments, story ideas and suggestions, and I thank you for reading.

Claire Sachse Managing Editor claire.sachse@tryondailybulletin.com Life In Our Foothills is published monthly by Tryon Newsmedia, LLC. Life In Our Foothills is a registered trademark.

All contents herein are the sole property of Tryon Newsmedia, LLC. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Please address all correspondence (including, but not limited to, letters, story ideas, and requests to reprint materials) to Editor, Life In Our Foothills Magazine, 16. N. Trade St., Tryon, NC 28782, or email to claire.sachse@ tryondailybulletin.com. Life In Our Foothills is available free of charge at locations throughout Polk County and the Upstate of South Carolina, and online at TryonDailyBulletin.com, and on Facebook @LIOFMagazine. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $35 per year by calling 828-859-9151. To advertise, call 828-859-9151 or email advertise@lifeinourfoothills.com.

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

JUNE 2017

General Manager Kevin Powell Editor Claire Sachse Contributors Heather Freeman Kirk Gollwitzer Judy Heinrich Ellen Henderson Carol Lynn Jackson Vincent Verrecchio Jennifer Wilson Steve Wong Robert Lange

Marketing Magan Etheridge Trish Boyter Brandon Moore Production Gwen Ring Administration Erika Anton Distribution Jeff Allison Jamie Lewis Alex Greene Anders Krarup

on the cover

Award-winning quilter Ruth Pollow’s “Bald Eagle Face” incorporates her love of nature, color and birds of prey.

In This Issue

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06 CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOOTHILLS FEATURED 08 Tryon Rhythm & Wine Festival

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FEATURES 10 The Magnificent Braided Monster of Melrose 14 Quilters Take the Art to New Levels

Landrum Quilt Show to highlight modern and traditional styles

22 Sam

From lucky foundling to “super hero”

28 Walk Back in Time

14

The 2017 Saluda Tour of Homes

COLUMNS 12 In Good Taste

Summer Tracks offers music with a side of food

36 Much Ado

Grass cutting

50 Pebbles the Pony

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

A heartbreaking experience

In This Issue

40

46

APPOINTMENTS 38 Hunter Derby to support St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation 40 Little Horses, Big Fun

A glimpse into the world of miniature horses

46 Isothermal Supports Local Equine Industry

Degrees, scholarships and research offer pathways to equine careers

Our passion is to help their passion become a reality.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2017 PARSEC PRIZE WINNERS!

OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling Buncombe County Guardian ad Litem United Way’s Middle School Success Initiative

Our Voice Western Carolina Rescue Mission

Parsec financial is proud to recognize the dedication and perseverance of five organizations who serve our local communities. In 2017, Parsec Financial is committing $200,000 to the Parsec Prize. The recipients chosen have shown a passion for improving the quality of life, and create meaningful opportunities for the people these programs and organizations serve.

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LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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June Calendar

The Midnight Plowboys

June 2, 7–10 p.m.

SUMMER TRACKS PRESENTS TELLICO Bluegrass and Americana Rogers Park, Tryon SummerTracks.com June 3, 7 p.m.

THE MIDNIGHT PLOWBOYS Tryon Fine Arts Center TryonArts.org, 828-859-8322 June 3, 6–10 p.m.

SCREEN ON THE GREEN Tryon International Film Festival Polk County Film Initiative Fundraiser Mimosa Inn 65 Mimosa Inn Dr., Lynn TryonInternationalFilmFestival.com June 3, 10, 17 & 24, 12-3 p.m.

HUCKLEBERRY’S SUMMER CONCERT SERIES St. Luke’s Plaza 828-436-0025 June 3, 4-7 p.m.

FRIENDSHIP COUNCIL COMMUNITY FRIENDSHIP PICNIC Harmon Field Cabin, Tryon 6

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

David Edgar

June 3, 5–10 p.m.

June 10, 7 a.m.–3 p.m.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

SALUDA YARD SALES

$130,000 Asheville/Greenville BMW Centers’ Grand Prix CSI3* Tryon International Equestrian Center Tryon.com, 828-863-1000

Saluda School Tennis Courts, Top of the Grade Park, Pavilion at McCreery Park, or in yards around town.

828-749-3789

June 8 & 9, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

June 10, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

LANDRUM QUILTERS PRESENTS THE LANDRUM QUILT SHOW Landrum Middle School 104 Redland Rd., Landrum LandrumQuilters.com June 8, 12–1 p.m.

CRAFTS & CONVERSATION: THE ORIGINS & MYTHOLOGY OF THE PLASTIQUARIUM With David Edgar Tryon Arts & Crafts School 373 Harmon Field Rd., Tryon TryonArtsAndCrafts.org 828-859-8323 June 10, 7–10 p.m.

MUSIC AT THE TRACKS PRESENTS ROCK AND ROLL REUNION Landrum Depot Facebook: City of Landrum

June 10, 5–10 p.m.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHTS $216,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix CS14* Tryon International Equestrian Center Tryon.com, 828-863-1000 June 11, 3 p.m.

LANIER LIBRARY ANNUAL MEETING WITH RON RASH Tryon Fine Arts Center, 34 Melrose Ave. Reception and book signing to follow at 4:30 p.m.

Lanier Library, 72 Chestnut St. Lanierlib.org, 828-859-9535 June 7, 14, 21 & 28, 2-4:30 p.m.

DRUMMOND HOUSE INTERIORS TEA & DESIGN 17 S. Trade, Tryon 828-859-9895

June Calendar June 15, 6-8:30 p.m.

WINE AND PAINT NIGHT

June 16, 6 p.m.

June 24, 7–10 p.m.

With Christine Mariotti Foothills Equestrian Nature Center 3381 Hunting Country Rd., Tryon Fence.org, 828-859-9021

ST. LUKE’S FOUNDATION HUNTER DERBY

MUSIC AT THE TRACKS PRESENTS OFF DUTY

Foothills Equestrian Nature Center 3381 Hunting Country Rd., Tryon Tickets: 828-894-2693

Landrum Depot

Through June 16

June 17

FOCUS/SOUTHERN VERNACULAR & ALTERED REALISM Upstairs Artspace 49 S. Trade St., Tryon UpstairsArtspace.org, 828-859-2828 June 16, 7–10 p.m.

SUMMER TRACKS PRESENTS SCOOT PITTMAN BAND Americana-rock-funk fun Rogers Park, Tryon SummerTracks.com

June 25, 4 p.m.

TRYON RIDING & HUNT CLUB “EVENING UNDER THE STARS” Foothills Equestrian Nature Center TryonRidingAndHuntClub.org 828-863-0480

FAMILY CONCERT WITH BLISSING TRIO Foothills Equestrian Nature Center 3381 Hunting Country Rd., Tryon Fence.org, 828-859-9021 June 27, 6:30 p.m.

June 18, 4 p.m.

GALLERY OPENING RECEPTION FOR THE CAROLINA CAMERA CLUB

Foothills Equestrian Nature Center 3381 Hunting Country Rd., Tryon Fence.org, 828-859-9021

Show: June 27-Aug. 4 Tryon Fine Arts Center 34 Melrose Ave., Tryon TryonArts.org, 828-859-8322

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LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Foothills Featured

A good time was had by all

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Photos by Kirk Gollwitzer The threat of rain did not dampen the spirits of the people who attended the inaugural Rhythm & Wine Fest in Tryon on May 6. With the live Cajun-style music playing on the front porch of The Depot, patrons strolled the parking area that accommodated about a half dozen wineries, many artists, and other vendors. The rain came and went several times, however, it never drowned out the event, which ended at 7 p.m. More photos are shared online at Life in Our Foothills Facebook page.

1. Scott and Gayle Lane, Kim and Mike Karaman 2. Kerry Kucera, Clint Kucera, Jenny Marrero, Ray Marrero 3. John and Kathy Toomey 4. Stacye Singleton, Maria Deritis, Yvette Porterfield, Miriam Stermer 5. Onyca Perry 6. Paula Jordan 7. Nathan Smith 8. Jamie Carpenter 9. Blair Crimmins & the Hookers 10. Alex Gerst, Sierra Keltner 11. Boyd Correll, Leslie Brooks, Mike Jordan 12. Bethany and Zach Ollis

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Foothills Featured

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LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Japanese Wisteria

r e t s n o M d e d i Bra

The Magnificent

of Melrose Avenue

SUBMITTED BY ROBERT LANGE

D

r. Charles J. Kenworthy moved to Tryon in 1889 from Jacksonville, Fla. with his young wife and newborn daughter, as well as some Japanese Wisteria seeds brought back from his many years in Australia.

By 1921, his wisteria had grown large enough that it killed a large oak and a large pine and had caught the attention of the Asheville Citizen-Times, which described it as a ‘magnificent braided monster.’

Since 1923, when Kenworthy’s widow sold the property and moved to Miami, the property, now known as Marilyn’s Melrose Inn, has passed through many owners and has operated on and off as an inn and restaurant, often going many years vacant and unkempt.

Marilyn Doheny, who purchased the property in November of 2009, describes the terraced side garden as “a tangled jungle featuring two bamboo groves, Tarzan-like kudzu, and mountains of ivy.”

It wasn’t until the following spring that a heady ambrosia of fragrance enticed her to investigate further and discovered that the jungle that is the inn’s side yard featured a massive canopy of lavender blossoms, richly fragrant and visually stunning - a magical, breathtaking and enchanting display.

Marilyn has since cleared out the area of kudzu and most of the bamboo. Despite having to cut back some of the wisteria, a massive trunk over 18 inches in diameter feeds vines which climb to the top of a nearby 120-foot tree with an abundant display of wisteria’s beautiful and fragrant purple flowers.

With the side yard now tamed, Marilyn plans to give the wisteria the royal treatment and have it “attended to by professionals - groomed, cultivated, trained and coerced over time into a magnificent 10

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

feature – which its history deserves.”

Marilyn welcomes painters to her garden any season, but spring has special opportunities with the welcome color and beauty of Dr. Kenworthy’s wisteria.

Japanese Wisteria

Dr. Charles J. Kenworthy 1824-1909

B

y the time he arrived in the colony of Victoria in Australia in 1853, Dr. Charles Kenworthy was just 29 years old and had been house physician at Belleview Hospital in New York and a surgical professor in Pennsylvania. For the next 11 years, he made his mark on the young colony, founding a hospital, Masonic lodge, a horticultural society, and acted as a mediator/spy during the Eureka gold miner’s rebellion.

Returning to America in 1865 with horticultural samples and Merino sheep to share with colleagues, he travelled the East Coast, reporting on everything from weather and mining, to crop production and financial markets.

He continued his medical service in Florida the next two decades as one of

Jacksonville’s most noted physicians and expert on Yellow Fever and ‘Consumption’ (tuberculosis). As the result of his love of fishing and the outdoors, several regional and national publications found him to be a regular and prolific contributor, known by his pen name, Al Fresco.

‘Retiring’ to Tryon in early 1889, Dr. Kenworthy purchased the second residence on Melrose Avenue, what is now the northwest corner of Marilyn’s Melrose Inn. Continuing his medical work, he was the Polk County health officer and appointed mayor of Tryon by the state assembly in 1891. His young wife, Marie, was a member of the first board of directors of the Lanier Club in 1890.

The universally loved and respected doctor died at the age of 85 in 1909, leaving behind a 45-year-old wife, young daughters, and a wisteria vine. In their reporting of his death, The Polk County News described him as “one of the oldest and most respected citizens of Polk County” who was “loved and respected by all who knew and understood him” and that he had “always stood for progress and betterment of the welfare of the county and State.” •

LIFE OUR June 2017 11 11 IN May 2017FOOTHILLS LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

In Good Taste

Music with a side of

food

WRITTEN BY CAROL LYNN JACKSON

R

ogers Park in downtown Tryon is a quaint but sizable outdoor amphitheater tucked just below the railroad tracks on Howard Street, behind Trade. The park helps cultivate a wonderful concert series each season called Summer Tracks. Entering its 18th season, Summer Tracks is produced by the Town of Tryon in affiliation with Peter Eisenbrown of Blockparty Productions. The popular and well-attended series attracts people from all over the region. Support for these concerts comes from area sponsors and the Tryon Downtown Development Association.

As with all Summer Tracks concerts, the show is free, though

a voluntary donation at the gate is encouraged. Summer Tracks has many first time performers and continues the great diversity in musical styles that the series is known for.

Audience donations along with the generous sponsorships of local businesses and individuals make these shows possible.

Local food vendor Manna Cabanna is back to add farm-fresh flavor to the musical notes enjoyed in the six-concert series. Guest chefs of the cooperatively driven grab-ngo market downtown offer seasonally inspired, locally sourced food for sale. Each menu offers items on a stick, on a bread, in a bowl, or on a plate.

Items in the past have been

SUMMER TRACKS 2017 SCHEDULE JUNE 2 Tellico Bluegrass and Americana tellicoband.com JUNE 16 Scoot Pittman Band Americana-rock-funk fun scootmusic.com JULY 7 The Paper Crowns Band A gumbo of Appalachian folk and bluegrass, delta blues, rock, outlaw country 12

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

authentic hand-rolled tamales, local organic salads, buttermilk biscuits and barbecue, and poached South Carolina Sea Island shrimp with house-made seasonings, Indian heirloom cornbread bites and North Carolina molasses butter. This season’s menu will create itself yet again but the farm-made ice cream encore will remain the same.

For more information about Summer Tracks and the performers, food menu, and email signup list, visit www.summertracks. com. The first show of the series is Friday, June 2. In the event of rain, the show moves inside the fire department across the street for a “house-concert” experience, with food offerings in tow! •

Music at 7 p.m. 55 W. Howard St., Tryon.

with a hot six-piece band. thepapercrowns.com JULY 21 Even Cowgirls Get The Blues The music of Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash and Lucinda Williams. Featuring vocals by Peggy Ratusz, Ellen Trnka and Mare Carmody with a stellar six-piece backing band.

AUGUST 4 Blair Crimmins and The Hookers Ragtime, Dixieland, Jump performed by a

cookin’ six-piece band. Get ready to shimmy, shake, rattle and roar! blaircrimminsandthehookers.com AUGUST 18 Seth Walker Seth is a diverse talent encompassing blues and swing styles in his music with great songwriting. His band is known for making audiences stand up, dance, swoon a little and then clap for more. sethwalker.com

Quilters take the art to

NEW LEVELS WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED

BY ELLEN HENDERSON

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Landrum Quilt Show

Landrum Quilt Show to highlight modern and traditional styles

T

he biennial 2017 Landrum Quilt Show, June 8-10, celebrates the time-honored art of quilting, both classic and contemporary. Sponsored by the Landrum Quilters, visitors can expect to see more than 180 quilts, large and small. While some are hand-quilted others feature machine and long-arm quilting, often with embroidery and embellishments.

Many quilters today are exploring different techniques, deconstructing traditional patterns, and embracing creativity and imagination with fabrics and thread.

The four featured Landrum Quilters, all innovators, share some commonality. All have a sewing background. All find inspiration from various sources. All view quilting as an avenue for personal satisfaction and experimentation, and all became serious quilters after moving to South Carolina.

The common ground then ends.

Maryanne Gilbert For Maryanne Gilbert, quilting is all about the color journey and achieving a cohesive design.

A South African-born American, she discovered quilting soon after moving to South Carolina seven years ago after seeing an exhibit at the Moses Cone Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

A self-taught proponent of English paper piecing, she now creates stunning hand-pieced hexagons which eventually become wall hangings, table covers and bedspreads.

Maryanne Gilbert Traditional quilters are familiar with paper-pieced hexagons found in the familiar Quilt top in Rose Star pattern Grandmother’s Flower Garden design. How- entitled Etude 1 Color Wheel ever, Maryanne’s hexagons may be coordinated by color or by random fabrics which, at first glance, do not appear complementary.

No matter, since either method results in a beautiful kaleidoscope effect.

She attributes a lot of inspiration to a book entitled “The New Hexagon” by Katja Marek, a Canadian designer with a Facebook group with more than 12,000 international members.

Some of Maryanne’s blocks resemble millefiori, the Italian word for a thousand flowers.

Usually associated with Venetian glass, the 2017 LANDRUM term in quilting means that the fabric is sewn QUILT SHOW together with different shapes and different Landrum Middle School fabrics, then cut into sections to form pat104 Redland Rd., Landrum, S.C. terns.

Those seeing Maryanne’s work are often June 8-10 eager to learn the technique. She is teaching Thursday/Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. small classes at Elaine’s Attic in Landrum and Saturday: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. instructs a Facebook group with an internaAdmission: $5 tional membership. For Maryanne the appeal Children under 12 free of English paper piecing is its portability.

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Landrum Quilt Show

Ruth Pollow. Phoenix Rising and Many Roads Lead Home 16

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Landrum Quilt Show “I can work on a block in any location,” she said. “It’s nice to spend the evenings watching TV with my husband while hand sewing more hexagons.”

In the future she aspires to create and market her own English paper piecing designs.

Ruth Pollow Ruth Pollow’s style has evolved tremendously since she first started traditional quilting in 1994.

Then she purchased patterns from other quilters and followed their directions.

Those days are long gone. Now most of her quilting is original, incorporating her love of nature, color and her involvement with birds of prey.

Ruth’s favorite quilting technique now is thread painting, the results of which are stunning masterpieces of art.

Sleeping Flamingo

“It is fascinating to watch your design come to life,” she said.

After selecting a photo or drawing, Ruth then fuses small pieces of fabric to a bottom panel to recreate the design. Next, using her machine with a zigzag, straight or decorative stitch, she “paints” the piece with threads to add color and texture. The result is a realistic representation of the subject created with a three-dimensional effect.

As a weekly volunteer at the Carolina Raptor Center in Charlotte, N.C., Ruth has spent 20 years closely observing and handling eagles, owls, hawks and other birds of prey.

She has created some of most amazing work replicating these majestic raptors.

Ruth continues to hone her creativity and quilting skills with landscape and art quilt classes at major quilt shows and at retreats both

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LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Landrum Quilt Show

Darleen Sanford. Along Came A Spider 18

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Landrum Quilt Show on Mackinaw Island (Michigan) and Madeline Island (Wisconsin).

Recognition of her work has come with quilt show awards, with commissions and with a one-woman exhibit at The Woodlands of Furman last fall.

Darleen Sanford The first time Darleen Sanford went to a quilt exhibit while living in Rochester, N.Y., she was intrigued but thought, “It’s too hard for me.”

Many years and many quilts later Darleen found a new interest,

modern quilting, a style she happily embraced about five years ago.

She explained that the term “modern quilt” is applied to an improvisational style that loosely adheres to certain concepts. These include a lot of negative or unpatterned space, dense quilting - often with straight or wavy line, and a bright, graphic palette. Other elements can be minimalism, no borders, exaggerated scale and alternative grid work.

“When I discovered modern quilting, I found the freedom to try new designs very appealing,” she

Many quilters today are exploring different techniques, deconstructing traditional patterns, and embracing creativity and imagination with fabrics and thread.

Pick-up Sticks was awarded the blue ribbon in Modern category at the recent show sponsored by the Foothills Piecemakers Quilting Guild Show in Greenville, S.C.

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Landrum Quilt Show

Sybil Radius is shown with landscape wall hanging created for a group challenge

Auditioning colors for a new project 20

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

A Southern Sampler, 2015 Viewers’ Choice Award at Landrum Quilt Show

Landrum Quilt Show

2017 LANDRUM QUILT SHOW

BY THE NUMBERS

180 - quilts and quilted items 17 - categories 18 - drawings for baskets filled with fabric 9 - vendors 3 - show days 1 - drawing for hand quilted 90 x 102 inch quilt

said. “One of my first projects was a set of placemats with a geometric motif. When I gave them to my son, he said, ‘Nice. These don’t look like a quilt.’ ” Asymmetry is also associated with modern quilting, as are whites, grays and unexpected colors for a quilt’s background.

Since she likes to start and finish projects in a timely fashion, she will still occasionally use a pattern designed by another quilter. She also gets ideas from blogs, websites and from members of the Greenville Modern Guild.

“My goal is develop more of my own original ideas and continue to grow as a quilter,” she said. “For me, modern quilting is less stressful than adhering to traditional designs where matched seams and perfect points are emphasized.”

Sybil Radius Sybil Radius creates award-winning original designs, channeling her artistry into quilted pieces ranging from wall hangings to fabric post cards to quilts.

She has come a long way from her first sewing projects, making doll clothes on a Singer treadle machine.

Attending a Landrum Quilt Show soon after moving to the area opened her eyes to the beauty and possibilities of quilting. She was hooked; however, until retirement in

2011 she did most of her quilting during summer vacations from her teaching job in Spartanburg District Seven.

Whether it’s turning her aunt’s vintage cross-stitched tablecloth into a quilt, making her own fabric from upholstery samples or recreating a fabric landscape scene inspired by her back yard, Sybil likes the challenge of discovering and using different techniques. Meeting monthly with two art quilt groups, Fiber Artists and the Focus group, has also stimulated her creative expression.

As program co-chairman for Landrum Quilters, she and Diane Hollis won rave reviews from members with their original presentations on using fabrics in different ways and on creating simple, but interesting, patterns when machine quilting.

A two-year project paid off in 2015 when her quilt, My Southern Sampler, won the Viewers’ Choice Award. Sybil combined traditional patterns with many of her own design, such as cotton bolls, peanuts, scenes of Rainbow Row and of the mountains.

Her least favorite part of quilting is precise piecing. She much prefers free form.

“Free motion quilting is very enjoyable and relaxing to me, especially since my new mid-arm machine enables me to sit, instead of stand,“ she said. • LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Sam: Therapy Dog

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Sam: Therapy Dog

SAM

From Lucky Foundling to “Super Hero” WRITTEN BY VINCENT VERRECCHIO PHOTOGRAPHS BY VINCENT VERRECCHIO AND SUBMITTED

T

he last meal he had eaten was long gone, long enough that his body had begun stripping itself of weight and energy. During the December night, the dog wandered into the refuge of a long open porch along the side of a darkened wood-sided building. As he huddled against white double doors, the wind fingered through his scruffy black coat and ribs to steal vital heat from deep within. The interstate was near enough to hear trucks taking the grade in mountain darkness, leaving him behind as an owner had done.

Through sunken eyes, he watched the sunrise brighten a gravel parking lot with neither heat nor promise. His head came up at the sound of a car engine and crunching tires.

His breathing quickened when the driver, a man, stepped into view at the far end of the porch.

Too tired to go further, of all the places the dog could have chanced upon near Saluda, N.C., he had come to rest at the door of a veterinarian clinic. The cold day, that could have been the dead end of his short six months, was the start of a saga that would warm the lives of many, such as Veronica “Bonnie” Sulger. A Navy veteran born in

1919, she brightened when feeling his fur and the steady rise and fall of his breathing over his 150 visits at her assisted-living home.

Perhaps it was meant to be, and not just luck, that one reason he had survived was to be the therapy dog that would lie next to her on a hospital bed and give her his warmth as she died.

A 45-pound black lab mix with a prematurely gray muzzle, there is little to distinguish him at first glance, but for Mrs. Sulger’s daughter, “He was a super hero to my mom.”

If you really look, you may be able to see a rising dove or an invitation to a hug in the white fur on his chest. In his eyes, you will see intelligence and kindness.

“When Dr. Matthews brought him in, he was so small,” remembers Nancy Weinhagen.

She got to the clinic that day to work in the kennel and at the front desk, and met the young dog that would eventually be her Sam. “We checked all the local shelters, put up posters, but no one claimed him. For three weeks, I let Sam in and out and fed him. He was going to have to go to the Foothills Humane Society, and that was 2008 before they became no-kill. When I asked my husband, Charles, to come and met Sam, he said, ‘no LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Sam: Therapy Dog

Mrs. Helen Cagney was never keen on having dogs in her home but now routinely invites Sam on her bed. When getting back to work after his cancer surgery, Sam knew where to find her and happily added another visit to his run of more than 145.

Celebrating with Mrs. Sulger at her 96th birthday,

Nancy, Charles, and Sam Weinhagen. In addition to volunteering as a trained handler with the national Alliance of Therapy Dogs, Nancy works at the Saluda Veterinary Hospital. Charles, a retired chef, remembers first meeting Sam and saying “no way� with three big dogs already at home.

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Sam: Therapy Dog way.’ When we got to the clinic, Charles repeated ‘no way.’”

Later that day, Sam was initially reserved when getting home and meeting Sassy, her deaf Pitie; Taz, a Samoyed Lab Shepherd; and Socks, her Great Dane Lab. But they and Charles helped him feel welcome.

“Sam was always so mellow and liked people,” says Nancy. So, about five years ago when Sam was three, she answered a newspaper ad from an organization looking for therapy dogs and handlers. The organization was the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, founded in 1990 by Jack and Ann Butrick, of Cheyenne, Wyo. Today, Nancy is one of about 14,000 handlers in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada.

The goal of the organization is to provide instruction, support, and insurance for members volunteering Animal Assisted Interactions (AAI) at

schools, hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and elsewhere. Any healthy, well-mannered dog of any breed, one year and older, can be trained.

To be registered, Sam and Nancy had to pass a test with a variety of pass/fail criteria in each of 13 parts that range from the handler’s observation of situational details to dog handling and behavior.

“Part of our instruction,” explains Nancy, “was two-hour sessions once a week for seven weeks at a care facility.

Sam was introduced to new sights and sounds such as a motorized wheelchair.”

Nancy clarifies that a registered therapy dog is not the same as a certified service dog. Sam visits clients to bring smiles and spread a little joy.

A service dog is a 24-hour companion trained for skills ranging from open-

ing a refrigerator to helping prevent a PTSD incident.

Among studies to determine the effectiveness of therapy dogs, the Australasian Journal on Aging reports that nine studies collectively suggest a decrease in agitation among senior dementia patients during dog contact.

The Handbook on Animal Assisted Therapy from Caltech presents physiological results that indicate stress reduction in adults interacting with dogs. Psychological Reports Journal published findings that suggest stress reduction in healthcare providers may occur within five minutes of therapy dog interaction.

Words such as “suggest,” “indicate,” and “may” seem to be scientific hedging calling for further research. Critics note such variables as trial design and difficulty of quantification.

Most likely, however, none of Sam’s

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

25

Sam: Therapy Dog

On the anniversary of his friend’s death and on Memorial Day and other holidays, Sam visits the Veteran’s Cemetery with Nancy and Mrs. Sulger’s daughter. Nancy says, “He brings a rose.”

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

clients read scientific journals, and only care that Sam visits with tail wagging, is happy to linger, and surprises them on special occasions. At Mrs. Sulger’s 96th birthday party, for example, she toasted Sam with grape juice while he resisted cupcake temptations within easy reach.

She asked that he come to her funeral.

Sam was with her when she died, and per her wish, he was at her church service. He then lay by the urn of her ashes on the drive to the Veteran’s Cemetery and walked in step with the Patriot Guard to the graveside.

He visits her regularly on most holidays and on the anniversary of her passing to sit and seemingly ponder the headstone.

In February 2017, the vet-

erinarian who had found Sam, found a worrisome lump during a routine exam. Sam’s first operation revealed a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor.

A second operation went deeper and wider.

“Such a good boy, Sam never had to wear a cone, just his doggy t-shirt to cover the shaved spot and three-inch incision,” Nancy told me as Sam lay at my side on the couch. I hesitated to ask the next question, but Nancy saved me. “The vet did good. Sam is cancer free.” Sam’s luck had not run out and he is back at work.

“When Sam walks into the room and wags his tail, “ concludes Nancy, “it’s like waving a magic wand. Smiles appear even with people who never had a dog.” •

WALK BACK IN TIME The 2017 Saluda Tour of Historic Homes Big House, 441 Shand St. 28

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Saluda Home Tour

WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY STEVE WONG

U

nless you make it a point to look for them, you might not know there are some impressive and historically important houses in Saluda, that little picture-perfect town that sits atop the Saluda Grade, straddling both Henderson and Polk counties. But they are there, along winding roads, hidden in the hills that surround the bustling downtown, and come Saturday, June 3, the public is invited to the Tour of Homes in Historic Saluda. Put on your walking shoes and step back in time.

“For many years in Saluda, the ‘Summer People’ meant the people from the Low Country and Midlands of South Carolina or Georgia, who came year after year to stay in houses

built on the hills above town,” Rhonda Corley began to explain. She is a cochair of the 2017 Home Tour, which is sponsored annually by the Historic Saluda Committee. “The selected five homes are some of the oldest in the Shand Hill neighborhood. The homes on this narrow curving hilltop street continue to be mountain respites for current families and their guests. The homeowners have been gracious in agreeing to share their properties and thereby supporting projects of the Historic Saluda Committee.”

There will be five homes on the tour (six if you count the little red house at Ivy Terrace), plus the Saluda Historic Depot, Lola’s Celebration Venue at Historic Thompson’s Store, and the Saluda Presbyterian Church

TICKETS Tour tickets are $20 each and are now available at City Hall, Saluda Historic Depot, and Heartwood Gallery. This is a walking tour, but golf carts will be available, if needed.

For more information, call Lynn Cass at 828-749-1975 or visit HistoricSaluda.org.

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Experienced agents licensed in both NC & SC • Members of NC Mountains MLS & Greenville MLS Active members of the community & sponsors of Tryon Beer Fest, Business Expo, Tryon International Film Festival & more LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Saluda Home Tour

Ivy Terrace, 300 Ivy Terrace Drive 30

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

DON’T REPLACE IT.

Saluda Home Tour

REVITALIZE IT.

— all within walking distance of about one mile. To get your bearings, Shand Hill, one of five hills in Saluda, is on the left at the entrance of town as you come up the - Bullet Point grade on -US 176. Look for the recently opened BulletHighway Point Saluda Outfitters; Shand Hill is in the woods behind the Bullet Point store. ButBullet youPoint are advised to stay on track and make your first stop DBA theName Depot, Here where you can get your ticket, a much-needed brochure, and a very helpful map.

With paperwork in hand, patrons are recommended to 000-000-0000 start at the Depot, followed by the Church, then head east Street Address on Main Street to Lola’s, and pace yourself to hike through City State Zip town to Shand Hill, which is actually up a hill. Each location will www.servicemasterclean.com be numbered and referenced in the brochure, and each location have guides to meet and greet you. $00willOff “The tour of all eight sites should take two to three Offer description Valid at this ServiceMaster Clean location only. Minimum purchase of hours and is planned as a walking tour,” Corley said. “A $XXX required. Cash value 1/100 of 1¢. Offer good through 00/00/00.

CARPET 3 Rooms $ shuttle bus will take participants from the Saluda Library CLEANING & Hall (downtown) to Saluda Outfitters at the entrance of Shand Street. Participants should dress casually, wear comfortable shoes and bring appropriate weather gear. Water and / / lemonade will be offered at Saluda Outfitters. Limited golf • Water Removal & Drying cart assistance will be available around Shand Hill if needed. Parking will be available in all City Lots and at the • Smoke & Odor Removal An independent business licensed to serve you by ServiceMaster Clean. © 2012 ServiceMaster Clean. All rights reserved.

Saluda Library. Each participant will receive a brochure with map and detailed histories of each site. No specific route is required and guests may make their way to all sites between the hours of 1 and 5 p.m.”

Here is a preview of the houses on the tour…

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Ivy Terrace – Herbert and Diane McGuire Built around 1890 by Captain William Hinson of Charleston, Ivy Terrace has been expanded, remodeled, and redecorated a number of times without destroying the original charm and soundness of its construction. It was enlarged, with a second floor added, and run as a boarding house in the 1930s and ‘40s. The current owners purchased Ivy Terrace in 1991.

The property consists of the main house and two cottages. The main house is two stories with a basement. The first floor has two bedrooms, two offices, a living room, dining room, kitchen and three and one-half baths. The second floor has five bedrooms and five baths. The rear of the house is currently used as the main entrance. There is an upper porch on the rear of the house and a wraparound porch on the front and an open deck on the side.

Many of the original materials were retained or repurposed when the house was renovated in 1991-1993.

The trees on the property were likely planted in the 1890s when the Biltmore House was being landscaped with some of the same species. The Pacolet Area Conservancy has included nine trees at Ivy Terrace on their TreaLIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

31

Saluda Home Tour

Meadowhill Farm, 185 Shand St.

Big House, 441 Shand St.

Shand Family House, 184 Shand St.

Bon Air, 260 Shand St.

sured Tree List. And the ivy continues to be a feature of the property.

Meadowhill Farm – The Nelson Family This property was originally a working farm owned by one of the many Thompson families of Saluda.

The exact date of the building of the original Meadowhill house is unknown but there is evidence that it 32

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

was constructed about 1870. By the middle of the 1880s Robert Wallace Shand, a lawyer from Columbia, S.C., was looking for a summer home for his family, and in 1885 Robert Shand’s wife, Louisa, purchased the Thompson farm property for the purpose of building a summer home. In 1886 or 1887, the Shands built their summer home on the farm and began spending a portion of the summer

months in Saluda.

The log cabin on the farm, located just across the road from the newly constructed house, was used as the kitchen for the new summer residence. The Shand family continued to own and spend the summers in both houses until 1972 when the Nelson family of South Carolina purchased the original log cabin and surrounding farm property as their

Saluda Home Tour summer residence. The Nelsons have made additions to the 1870 cabin, making every effort to not alter its character.

Shand Family House – Peter Shand Robert Wallace Shand and Mrs. Shand of Columbia built the Shand house in 1887. James Blythe, a wellknown Baptist preacher and his wife Martha, conveyed 17 acres of land to Mrs. C. Shand and her husband Robert, in 1885, to be used as the site for a summer home. The house, known then as “The Eyrie,” was built on the point of the hill overlooking the railroad. The log cabin across the street, now owned by the Nelson family, was used as the kitchen. The house was known to be the second oldest summer house built in Saluda and may be the oldest summer house still standing.

Robert’s grandson, Julian Bonham Shand, Sr. acquired the property from his siblings in the early 1970s and undertook a renovation to its current condition. The house is now owned by descendants of Julian.

The Saluda Big House – Rae McPherson The fifth generation of current owners continues to celebrate easy living at the Saluda Big House, while tracing its history back much earlier to the 1800s. The house remains essentially unchanged in its outside appearance in the years from its first written record in 1889, when John and Margaret Bone sold the property to the Krackes, who summered there until 1918.

At the end of World War I, the property sold to Henry and Eva Davis of Columbia for $670. Five years later, the property sold for $2,000 to Cecil and Myriam Robinson of New Orleans, who joined many others from Louisiana for summers in Saluda. It was the Robinsons who engaged prominent Polk County Contractor William L. Thompson to reconfigure the first floor and finish the second floor for $3,603, creating the house you see today.

Esther Teal Efird bought the house on sight in 1956 from the Robinson estate for $11,000. Esther left the house to her three children, among whom was Louise Efird Johnson. It was Louise’s children who subsequently formed the Saluda Big House Partnership in 1986 for the purpose of owning, maintaining, using and enjoying this home on Shand Hill.

Bon Air - The Gause House The Whaley-Osborne-Gause house, known as “Bon Air,” was built for Mr. and Mrs. A.B. Whaley of Edisto Island and Wadmalaw Island in Berkeley County, S.C. The land was purchased from David and Sallie Pope for $50 in 1886. In that same year, the Whaleys started construction of a three-story house, which originally consisted of the present living room, which was divided into a

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33

Saluda Home Tour bedroom to the south of the present fireplace, a parlor or dog trot through the middle, and a bedroom on its north. There were four bedrooms on the second floor and two on the third.

In the following year they added the rear wing consisting of the dining room and porch on the first floor and a bedroom and sleeping porch on the second. The kitchen was a separate building, which was situated approximately where the garage is located.

The furniture for the entire house was bought in Charleston and sent to Saluda by rail. This was a summer house where the Whaleys, their relatives and several families from around Edisto Island came for the next 41 summers.

There was no inside plumbing or electricity in the house until it was bought by Dr. Elton S. Osborne in 1925.

The Gause family purchased the

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

house from Dr. Osborne’s descendants in 1993. ~~~ As the Saluda Historical Committee is all about “Preserving Saluda’s Past for its Future,” walkers are purposely directed through the town’s business district, where along the way they can visit restaurants; gift, antique, and specialty shops; and other retail outlets that are popular among tourists and locals alike. The scheduled non-home stops are…

Saluda Historic Train Depot Built in 1903 on Highway 176 about a quarter mile past the bridge, the Saluda Historic Train Depot is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It has a long history in Saluda including its eventual move from the original location to its current location on Main Street.

In June 2016, after an 18-month

journey, a group of citizens in Saluda organized and created a nonprofit organization named the Saluda Historic Depot to purchase the building and create a train and heritage museum.

The museum recently opened two exhibits: a new G-Scale Southern Railroad Livery track with a locomotive and cars running the perimeter of the main passenger area, and How the West Was Won permanent display.

Saluda Presbyterian Church The Saluda Presbyterian Church was built between 1895 and 1896 as a multi-denominational community church with funding from residents and summer people. It became a Presbyterian church in 1914. The Tryon Presbyterian Church donated the pews in the early 1940s, and the antique pulpit came from a South Carolina church that had closed.

The sanctuary of the church remains

Saluda Home Tour

Saluda Presbyterian Church, 54 Carolina Ave.

a well-preserved example of late 19th century vernacular Gothic Revival. The weather-boarded structure features a gable front, a corner two-stage entrance tower, a shallow rear apse, and pointed arched windows.

Such details — carved rafter ends, decorative eaves, brackets on the tower, decorative bracing at the front gable peak above a quatrefoil roundel, and a double leaf entrance surmounted by a decoratively carved triangular pediment — greatly enliven the exterior.

Historic Thompson’s Store and Lola’s Celebration Venue Lola’s Celebration Venue is located upstairs above Historic Thompson’s Store, the oldest grocery store in North Carolina, established in 1890. Constructed in 1905, the building originally served as a boarding house for the tough and hardy railroad workers who maintained the Saluda Grade, the steepest mainline railroad in the United States.

While the railroad was crucial to the growth of Saluda, support also came from numerous wealthy families from the lowlands of South Carolina and Georgia. These families built summer homes in Saluda, seeking relief in the cool North Carolina mountains during the hottest months of the year. The room names at Lola’s are a tribute to the communities from which many of those wealthy families came — Charleston, Columbia, Holly Hill, and Walterboro in South Carolina and Savannah in Georgia. • LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

35

Much Ado

grass

CUTTING

WRITTEN BY STEVE WONG

Is that an outline of a dog in your yard or is your husband getting creative with grass?

G

rass. All that green ground cover in my yard that during warm weather grows faster than my graying hair. It is June, and if I’m not writing, I’m cutting grass. Or, avoiding cutting grass.

Yes, I’m one of those guys who lets things like his hair and his grass grow too long before cutting it.

Embarrassingly too long. When my hair gets unruly and itchy, I begin to wonder if it’s time for a haircut.

Naw, I’ve waited two months, I can wait another week or two.

I know my grass needs cutting when I see little yellow flowers At Play in the Fields of the Lord. I can usually pretend I don’t notice the dandelions, but my wife notices, and she’s hard to ignore.

A well-maintained yard is a source of pride for her, an indicator of responsibility and respectability. Why she married someone as irrespon36 36

May June2017 2017 LIFE LIFEIN INOUR OURFOOTHILLS FOOTHILLS

sible and disrespectful as me, I’ll never know.

She’s learned over the many years that suggesting, asking, demanding, nagging me to cut the grass will not work. Instead, when the knee-high grass is just too much for her to bear, she cuts it herself — sending me into a fit of guilt.

I’ll be comfortably sitting in front of the television with a bowl of buttered microwaved popcorn watching an X Files rerun when I’ll hear the roar of either the gray or the orange lawnmower. Sure enough, she’ll be out there riding a mechanical monster, beheading the dandelions, and cutting/killing the grass as short as possible.

Somehow that roar I hear sounds like “shaaaaameooooonyooooou… shaaaaameooooonyooooou… shaaaaameooooonyooooou.”

My wife is pretty smart. She knows how to pick her battles and

how to win. By cutting the front (easy and small) yard (using the better of the two mowers), she knows my guilt will get the better of me by the time Fox Mulder solves the mystery of the missing mummy.

Soon, we have both of our “his and her” mowers running full tilt boogie with stereophonic roars and clouds of dust and pollen. She’ll be done in about an hour and back in the air-conditioned house. I will be just getting started on the rest of the four acres that we call our yards.

As a “creative type,” I can’t just methodically cut row after row of green stuff. I get bored easily and devise ways to make grass cutting interesting. Sometimes, I’ll purposely save a topic of personal concern to think about as I mindlessly cut. I think about the latest crazy thing President Donald

Trump has tweeted, if I should use cheddar or Swiss cheese in quiche, if Mr. Spock’s copper-based blood is green, if that fire ant hill is too big to hit with a riding mower.

Sometimes I drink beer to deaden the pain of fire ant bites.

More often than not, I get creative in how I actually cut the grass. There’s no fun or creativity in cutting rows up and down the two-acre hill where I park my car. But if I start in the middle and cut ever-expanding concentric circles, I get a little dizzy from the experience. Or maybe it’s just three too many beers drank under the blazing Carolina sun, using dangerous machinery that make me think funny thoughts.

Back when the children were little, I would cut them a bunny trail for Easter. I would let the grass grow unchecked until a few days before the sunrise service, letting it get at least three feet tall or taller than a two-year-old. Then I would cut a zig-zaggy maze of trails through the overgrown field and hide Easter eggs along the bunny trail.

Little kids in their brand new Easter clothes love creative daddies.

You might say grass cutting drives me to distraction. Instead of staying the course and cutting all of the grass in one yard at a time, I cut wherever my wandering heart desires. Sometimes I desire to cut the grass in the lower field, behind the barn, grass that no one can see except for the deer, wild turkeys, and skunks.

In the wide-open mid fields, I try my hand at making Nazca Lines, those supersized stick figures carved into the landscape by ancient aliens. You can only see the shapes from 30,000 feet. The picture I made of Futar my dog is pretty good, if I do say so myself. That’s not what my wife said.

I say, “It’s only grass. It will grow back, just like my hair does. Do we have any more beer in the fridge?” • Steve Wong is a freelance writer living, writing, and cutting grass in the peach orchards of Gramling, S.C. He can be reached at Just4Wong@gMail.com.

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APPOINTMENTS

Hunter Derby

Joanie and Roger Newman

10th annual Hunter Derby to support

ST. LUKE’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION WRITTEN BY JENNIFER WILSON

I

t’s time for the 10th annual Blue Ridge Hunter Jumper Association “Hunter Derby” in support of St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation.

Come join the fun and support St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation at the same time!

The Hunter Derby will be held Friday, June 16, from 5:30 – 8 pm at FENCE in Tryon, N.C. This year’s event promises to be fun for the entire family with a caricature artist, build your own ice cream sundae,

barbecue and fixins’ and don’t forget… the exciting jumper competition.

Individual tickets are now available, or consider sponsoring a ringside tented table for eight.

What a great way to entertain out-of-town guests, grandchildren, friends and neighbors!

Checks should be made payable to the St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation and may be mailed to the foundation at 89 West Mills Street, Suite B, Columbus, NC 28722. Tickets are avail-

able at the St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation office or you can call 828-894-2693.

All proceeds will benefit the Discretionary Fund at St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation. This fund will enable the foundation to exercise discretionary spending when evaluating and purchasing small equipment items, facilitating required equipment repairs, or accommodating other unplanned expenses that develop during the course of the hospital’s fiscal year. •

Hunter Derby

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Nicole and Andrew Morris with their children, Madelyn, Mason and McKenna

This material is based upon information that we consider reliable, but it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied upon as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions, changes, including price, or withdrawal without notice.

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

39

Connie Brown with 21-year old Fantassy (left) and 4-year old Simon.

LITTLE HORSES,

BIG FUN STORY AND PHOTOS BY JUDY HEINRICH

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Little Horses, Big Fun

C

onnie Brown’s dressage horse completely changed her life…. just not the in way she might have expected.

Connie and her husband, Jeff, were living in Wellington, Fla., where Connie had been a human and equine massage therapist for 20 years. She was also a 32-year dressage rider who owned and rode “Wonderland,” a Hanoverian from Germany, who was a solid Prix Saint Georges horse and a wonderful schoolmaster. But when Connie bought a young mare to train up as Wonderland’s eventual replacement, it became clear that Wonderland was not happy to have “Gracie” taken away for schooling. So someone suggested that Connie get him a miniature horse to keep him company.

And so she did.

“I had no idea what you could do with minis and I wanted to know what I could do with mine other than it just being a companion,” Connie says. “So the woman I bought mine from invited me to go to a show and I was blown away. Minis weren’t just shown at halter; they could drive, jump in-hand, do in-hand obstacle courses and more.

So I started by teaching my mini to drive.”

For their anniversary gift one year, the Browns took a trip to the AMHA World Show in Fort Worth, which Connie describes as “a whole other world – it made me realize how seriously people took these horses.”

Are they ponies?

While miniature horses may be similar in size to some small ponies, they are actually a separate breed, believed to have originated with the Falabella horse, a diminutive rare breed still in existence today.

“A lot of people mistake minis for ponies but I think the personality is different,” says Connie. “Nothing against ponies, I love them, but they are sometimes mischievous and watching you to see what they can get away with. Minis, when handled correctly, just want to please you. I think of them as a cross between a horse and a yellow lab! They’re just as loving as labs are.”

There are two national registries for miniature horses, the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR), which focuses on breeding for refinement and showing at halter, and the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA), which is geared more toward performance. There are slight differences in height standards between the organizations and the conformation has evolved differently, with the AMHA-types tending to have more bone in the leg and angle in the shoulder, as needed for driving and jumping.

Breeding for performance In addition to her successful show career, Connie got involved in breeding and selling minis for performance, LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

41

Little Horses, Big Fun

Above: Connie Brown with Oliver and Carol Jones with Stella navigate a cones course.

Right: A few of GCMH Farm’s awards and ribbons won at local, regional and national levels.

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Little Horses, Big Fun painstakingly researching bloodlines to try and improve the line and get a better stallion. Since moving to Polk County 10 years ago, she has given up breeding, in part because she became aware of how often minis are bred indiscriminately and end up at equine rescue organizations as a result.

“Some people breed them irresponsibly or just leave groups of mares and stallions together to breed at will.

Minis can have difficult births because of their size and confirmation, similar to how bulldogs may have difficult births because of their large heads. A responsible breeder has to understand the risk, be very aware of timing, and be able to intervene or call in a vet as soon as necessary,” Connie says.

Sadly, she has had irresponsible breeders tell her that they breed x-number of minis a year and lose x-percent at birth.

Even being born healthy doesn’t guarantee a mini a good life, Connie says. “Maybe they were bought for children but the children eventually lose interest and the minis are left to their own devices. Or people don’t realize minis need the same kind of routine care – hoof, dental, vaccinations – as large horses.”

Rescue and rehab Once she phased out of breeding, Connie became active in rescuing, rehabbing and training minis for new homes, at one point having as many as 21 at her farm. Part of the training is evaluating where a mini fits, in terms of what kind of activity suits him or her. And in finding new homes, whether for rescues or back when she was breeding and selling, Connie “enjoys putting the right horse with the right owner. Seeing what their goals are and making sure it’s a good match.”

She still helps with rehabbing when needed and is also involved with Hope Remains Ranch, an organization in Spartanburg County that uses minis in programs for children who have been abused or have physical, mental or emotional disabilities. Hope Remains also works with veterans who have PTSD, and takes minis off-site to schools and nursing homes.

“People who might be afraid of being near a big horse aren’t intimidated by the minis,” Connie says. “They are even being trained now as seeing-eye animals, with the advantage that they have a much longer life than a service dog does, up to 40 years.”

Advocate for the breed Most of Connie’s time with minis today is spent as an advocate for the breed and a mentor for people who want to get involved and see what minis are all about. “Most of the interest comes from baby-boomers and I’m a perfect example of that,” she says. “Now I give lessons and have fun days for people who were jumping fences 20 years ago but realized as they got older that it’s harder to get on a big

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Little Horses, Big Fun

FUN DAY AT GCMH FARM I was able to meet several mini owners with their horses at a lesson and fun day at Connie’s Green Creek Miniature Horses farm. They included Carol Jones and Stella, Jane Arrowood and Emma, Melissa Auen and Dee, and Mary Tkaczuk and Willie. And of course, Connie Brown’s own Oliver, who despite losing an eye, continues to do all of his activities and is still racking up ribbons and awards in driving and obstacles.

Carol Jones with Stella and Connie Brown with Oliver.

In-hand classes include bridges and other obstacles.

44

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Oliver demonstrates in-hand jumping.

Little Horses, Big Fun

Connie coaches (l-r) Mary Tkaczuk with Willie, Jane Arrowood with Emmy, and Melissa Auen with Dee for an upcoming show.

horse and easier to get hurt if you fall off. Minis are a fun alternative for staying involved with horses at any age.”

In our area the Carolina Carriage Club is a great organization for people who want to drive and possibly show their minis – actually called “Very Small Equines” or VSEs in the competitive driving world. Minis can also be driven on trails at FENCE and at Windridge Farm near Shelby, and Connie has permission from some private landowners to bring minis for drives on their properties.

Connie also started the Foothills Miniature Horse Club for people who don’t drive their minis but enjoy in-hand activities like obstacle courses or jumping. And while many think they would never be interested in showing, Connie says once they get their feet wet, they often change their minds. “We offer a lot of fun, non-threatening in-hand shows for minis that people can enjoy.”

In fact, Connie says the Carolina Carriage Club has even had her design an in-hand course for minis at its end-of-season Pleasure Show for the last two years. “In-hand activities are becoming more recognized, accepted and popular.”

If Connie has anything to do with it, minis in general will become more recognized, popular, and well cared for.

“I just love sharing what I know about miniature horses and/or carriage driving with anyone who is interested.

That’s part of what I’m all about really, introducing minis to people who don’t know about them. I welcome anyone who wants to learn about them to contact me at Green Creek Miniature Horses, at 828-980-4403.” • LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Isothermal Community College

Barn Manager Nikki Guerrazzi watches four Groom Elite students put polo wraps on Chip.

ISOTHERMAL SUPPORTS LOCAL EQUINE INDUSTRY STORY AND PHOTOS BY JUDY HEINRICH

Degrees, scholarships and research offer area students pathways to equine careers

I

t’s an exciting time to be part of the equine world in the Carolina Foothills, with new levels of competition to watch at Tryon International Equestrian Center and positive economic impacts in the form of new jobs and increased tourism.

To support the equine industry’s growth in the area, Isothermal Com46

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

munity College (Isothermal) has been developing educational programs designed for those who want to explore or pursue equine-related careers.

“Isothermal has always been committed to economic development within the community,” says Thad Harrill, Isothermal’s vice president of Community and Workforce Devel-

opment. “We pay attention to what’s going on in our communities, whether in manufacturing, hospitality, agriculture or equine. We want to be part of the solution and work with industry people to prepare a workforce with skills that are needed and marketable.”

Isothermal now offers equine courses through Continuing Education,

Isothermal Community College some of which lead to recognized industry certifications and some that transfer to academic programs such as Isothermal’s two-year associate of applied sciences degree (AAS) in agribusiness technology, which has a subject track in equine business. Upon completion of the AAS in agribusiness technology, students can transfer to a four-year state university and complete a four-year degree within two years.

Read on for details about current Isothermal equine-related programs, something in the works for the near term, and another exciting initiative for the future that is now being explored.

For additional information on any of Isothermal’s programs, visit www.Isothermal.edu and use Search to find your area of interest.

Continuing Education Programs Isothermal Polk offers three courses intended to develop various levels of skills for people who will be working with and around horses, including courses that offer industry-recognized certification. Courses combine classroom instruction and hands-on learning at area barns, and are offered in English and Spanish.

Instructors include well-known equine experts from our area, Dr. Thann Boyum, Erin Gambrell, Lilia White, and Anita Williamson, as well as visiting subject matter experts from our area and beyond. Check with Isothermal Polk for class schedules, fees and how to enroll. Enrollment is limited and financial assistance may be available.

“Introduction to Horse Care & Handling” (aka “Groom 99”) is a 12-hour class that provides an overview of the basic information a new worker or horse owner needs to safely work around horses. The class covers the basics of equine behavior, terminology, major equine anatomy, safe horse handling, introduction to equipment, bathing, observing horses for signs of injury and illness, and more.

Groom Elite is a two-part career education program that was originally developed for the horseracing industry but has been modified for Isothermal to focus on the needs of the show horse industry. The full program offers two 40hour courses, Groom Elite 101 and 201. The courses consist of 50 percent lecture and 50 percent hands-on learning in area barns. Upon completing each course, students can be tested for competency and knowledge to receive nationally recognized “Certified Groom Elite” certification.

Groom Elite 101 (40 hours) focuses on important horse care skills including equine behavior, grooming basics, basic equine anatomy, digestion and feeding guidelines, horse health evaluation, applying bandages, safety, barn management, and more.

Groom Elite 201 is an advanced certification course open to Groom Elite 101 graduates. This 40-hour course LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Isothermal Community College

GROOM ELITE IN THE BARN

I recently had the opportunity to join Groom Elite 101 students for a classroom session conducted by renowned equine veterinarian Dr. Helmuth Von Bluecher, who has spent much of his career working with Thoroughbred racetracks in Southern California. Following in-class work, the Groom Elite students made a short drive to one of two area barns for handson practice tacking up and applying leg wraps. I joined the group at Jim and Ann Troppman’s barn to watch them tack up focuses on anatomy, injuries including identifying acute and chronic injuries, understanding the cause and methods of controlling inflammation and common injuries, types of therapy and when each should be used, basic techniques of touch therapy for relaxation and general well-being, handling weather stress and more.

Academic Programs While continuing education programs enable students to earn various industry certifications, academic programs allow students to earn a degree. “Because Isothermal is an accredited college, students can take the credits they earn here and transfer them to another college or university 48

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

a horse from scratch and practice polo wraps with the help of two very cooperative horses belonging to Ann. The students included some experienced horse owners – although not all familiar with English tack – and others for whom the Groom Elite program was their first hands-on horse experience. Helping Dr. Von Bluecher with demonstration and review was area trainer and barn manager Nikki Guerrazzi.

to continue earning higher educational degrees,” explains Kim Alexander, dean of Business Sciences And Agribusiness Technology at Isothermal.

Isothermal has developed an Equine Business Technology program that is a “subject track” within its two-year associate of applied sciences degree in agribusiness technology (with other subject tracks focusing on cattle or horticulture, for example). Students interested in equine education will have two choices: they can take just the equine business technology track to earn a certificate of 12 transferable credit hours in equine business, or they can choose to pursue the full two-year applied sciences degree, which will also give them agribusiness courses

like agriculture marketing, agriculture accounting, and farm business management, for example.

One of the advantages of Isothermal’s equine track is that it is a hybrid program – part on-site and part online learning. The on-site sessions include some classroom and some in the field, such as visiting a feed manufacturer, watching teeth being floated, or seeing embryo transfers.

Isothermal now has a two-year bilateral agreement with North Carolina Agriculture & Technology State University, under which students can complete the two-year AAS in agribusiness technology at Isothermal and transfer to NC A&T as a junior to earn a bachelor’s degree. Isothermal

Isothermal Community College plans to explore similar arrangements with other four-year institutions.

Open Door & Scholarships Dean Alexander wants to be sure potential students know that Isothermal has an ‘open door’ policy where no one will be turned down for an education, and Isothermal offers more scholarships than any other community college system in North Carolina (of which there are 58 total).

“We are able to do that because we have people in our community who believe in education and have generously invested in Isothermal through donations or bequests to provide scholarships for students from Polk and Rutherford counties,” Alexander says.

Looking Ahead: Spindale Campus Barn An exciting initiative that’s now underway is the construction of a work-

ing barn at Isothermal’s main campus in Spindale. “Starting in September we will have a barn with stalls, tack room, and stocks so that we can have horses brought in for classes and demonstrations right on campus,” Alexander says. “There will be an air-conditioned classroom attached to the barn so we can have classroom sessions and handson work in one place.”

Alexander says the college is grateful for the grant provided for the project from the Appalachian Regional Commission and Golden Leaf Foundation, which are both helping with ICC’s initiatives in agriculture and equine.

The project will also include fencing and a greenhouse.

Exploration: Equine Research Center In another exciting development, the Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded Isothermal, in collaboration with North Carolina State

University (NCSU), a $100,000 grant to explore the feasibility of locating an international equine research center in our area. NCSU endorsed the joint project as part of its land grant mission of serving the state through innovation, research and extension, particularly for rural communities. NCSU further expressed that one of the major goals of this research center partnership would be to explore opportunities in the equine and veterinary fields.

The $100,000 grant will fund a comprehensive report covering feasibility and planning stages for the project, including what the center’s research would entail and what physical structures might look like over time.

Although this project is now in its earliest stages, it represents another great opportunity for growing our area’s horse economy and reinforcing one of Tryon Horse Country’s longtime slogans, “Our Horses Mean Business.” •

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS June 2017

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Pebbles the Pony

A HEARTBREAKING EXPERIENCE WRITTEN BY PEBBLES, THE HERD RESCUE SPOKESPONY

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ast night was one big commotion here on the farm.

Two very starved newcomers arrived at 1:30 a.m. after their month of quarantine in Louisiana.

The new paint colt is not even a year old and is scared to death of humans.

He is paper-thin and rode in the back of the trailer in a big stall, laying down much of the trip. He got carefully unloaded through a makeshift chute into a round pen. Next off was the Marsh Tacky, Ishmael, a beautiful young black gelding who is also skin and bones and shaking he is so frightened. He is going to be fostered by Beth Laughridge, a member of HERD who helps care for the rescues. I well remember how unsure I felt arriving here to the unknown. I call out to tell him it will be okay as he passes by my corral.

Something tonight is very unsettling for me. My teats are very swollen and my upper tail is now very soft and loose. The team at HERD has been keeping a careful watch over me as they now know I am pregnant. Cheryl, my friend who volunteers to train me, says I look thinner to her than two weeks ago, and she cannot understand why there is no movement in my belly.

If the calculations are correct, I will foal in late June or July. This will be 50

June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

After I lost my foal, Bridget Johnson came to the farm to give me a massage.

my second foal.

With all the fuss over the new arrivals, I trot around. Finally, when everyone settles and lights go off in the house I lie down in the wee morning hours. The foal is coming but it is too early. A colt is born, a buckskin pinto with little white socks, looking very much like Lion, the stallion pony I was in the kill pen with in Texas.

But there is something terribly wrong. I break away the bag surrounding him but he is too young, he was not yet ready to enter the world. I drag him over to the fence trying to get him up. I cannot get him to wake up. It is a nice a bright moon. I try my best and stay close to him, waiting and watching.

At dawn, Heather came out to check on everyone to serve breakfast.

In her fluffy big robe with coffee in hand she stopped in her tracks when she spied the blood on my tail and the shocking situation at hand. She came over to comfort me and ran into the house to grab a blanket for my lifeless foal. The vet is called to consult on what to do next.

I am very confused and the first step is to inspect me thoroughly and give me a good warm bath and some breakfast. Heather contacts Cheryl to come comfort me as she sees I am

down in the dumps. Then she schedules a visit with Bridget Johnson who has worked on rescues before and offers equine bodywork and cold laser therapy.

A gentle woman with a big smile, she practices the Masterson Method, which incorporates bodywork massage engaging the horse to actively participate, releasing tension. She focuses on key junctions of my body that affect my comfort and performance. I must say I first questioned her as to what she was doing to me.

Then I decided to relax and get into the groove to thoroughly enjoy my session. Just what a girl needs after such a terrible experience. My 90 minutes left me feeling relieved, in fact I felt like a nap afterwards in the sunshine.

It is good to be loved and have caring friends that donate time to support HERD. And of course, Heather comforted me with some fresh apples, which are my favorite treat. If you need Bridget in your life, she can be reached at 828-8173283. Please tell her Pebbles sent you!

Since Pebbles likes apples, she has a favorite recipe for Waldorf Apple Salad. It is available online at TryonDailyBulletin.com or on the Life in Our Foothills Facebook page.•

Marketplace Life in our Foothills • 828.859.9151

Dominguez Tree Service, LLC Free estimates • Insured • Stump Grinding No job too small Bucket truck available 828-460-7039 ALL AMERICAN TREE SERVICE HAZARDOUS JOBS ARE OUR SPECIALTY •Trimming / Pruning •Tree & Stump Removal •Debris Removal FREE ESTIMATES call 864-991-7128 Call Bill the Painter for all your painting needs! We also do drywall repair and wood repair! 32 years experience. Like Bill the Painter on Facebook! Call 828-899-2647 Craftsman Services YOUR most trusted name for remodeling and repairs.For more information e-mail: craftsman1211@gmail.com Or call: Tel: 864-978-2283 Dan Steiner Painting For A Fine Paint Job High Quality-Low Prices •Professional Pressure Washing •Gutter Cleaning •Minor Repairs 828-817-0539 or 828-894-6183 *Senior Discount Available* ANTIQUES INTERIOR DESIGN ESTATE SALES CONSIGNMENT VINTAGE COSTUME/ FINE JEWELRY Historic Downtown Greer 201 Trade Street Mon-Sat 10:00am-5:30pm 864-235-4825 THE GALLERIES OF BRIAN BRIGHAM Let Us Design Your Home GOOD BY STUMPS Stump Removal Fully Insured Free Quotes!

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Home site prep and retaining walls.

Call: 828-817-3674 $10 OFF Spring Preventative Maintenance (Reg $75) Rutherford Heating and Air 828-287-2240 7-K Garbage Service Monthly • Weekly • One Time Service • We Pick It Up! 828-894-9948 hyatt2658@yahoo.com Owner - Suzette Hyatt Tommy’s Home Improvement •Roofs, renovations, siding, carpentry, decks, windows, screening. All Home Repairs. FREE Estimates Home: (828)859-5608 Cell: (828)817-0436 Mountains of NC Log sided 1340 sf cabin on 1.84 acres $159,00 828-286-2661 RENTALS Go to www.tryonrealestate.com For Furnished and Unfurnished Long and Short Term Rentals Contact Pat Martin at First Real Estate 828-859-7653 Office and/or StudioArt Space Available in the Mill Spring Agricultural Center. (828)894-8028 Commercial space available for lease at 687 N. Trade St. Good workspace, big building, direct frontage on 176.

203-858-0488 TIEC visitors - 2 or 3 bedroom house – pool table/laundry room – garage and parking available. CLOSE to TIEC and local restaurants. 828-894-2763 10+ Acres For Sale Equestrian Estates. Lot 16. Mountain view. Creek. Underground utilities.

Please call 972-835-0382

BY OWNER Luxury Home on 5 Acres with a mountain view. Located close to the International Tryon Equestrian Center and only 5 minutes from the local airport. 7,000 sqft home offering a total 6 Bedrooms and 7 Full Bathrooms, including 5 Bedroom w/Bath Suites; Extra-large Kitchen; Formal Living/Dining Room; 2 Dens; 2 Offices, and Sunroom. Asking $1,200,000 Serious inquiries only.

Email: jgross@footandanklenc.com FSBO – charming horse farm, 1700sf antebellum house, ten stall barn.

Near Tryon. Mostly pasture with surrounding preserve. Large arena. $489K (21 acre complete); $356K (10 acres with facilities). 773-633-7186 C.N.A’s: 8hr & 12hr Shifts RN/LPN: 8hr & 12hr Shifts Under new management. Sign-on bonus! Apply in person or email resume to sally.halford@ saberhealth.com.

Autumn Care of Saluda 501 Esseola St. Saluda, NC 28773 CARPENTERS & CARPENTER HELPERS Benefits package included. Qualified applicants should apply in person to Blue Ridge Log Cabins 625 East Frontage Rd Campobello, SC 29322.

Event or Neighborhood Reps for large 20 year old home improvement company. $12/hr + commission.

Call Carolina Gutter Helmet & More 864-877-0692 or email resume/work history: robie@carolinagutterhelmet.com Pacolet Area Conservancy & Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy seek applicants for a full-time Southeast Regional Director based in Columbus, NC. This position ensures a coodinated fundraising strategy with the Hendersonville office and leads community engagement efforts in and around Polk County.

Candidates should have proven success with building non-profit community support, successful grant-writing experience, familiarity with Polk and adjoining parts of Greeneville and Spartanburg counties, familiarity with land conservation desireable. Send cover letter and resume to info@carolinamountain.org View the full job description & application instructions at www.carolinamountain.org/ southeast-regional-director MAINTENANCE UNLIMITED If you can break it, we can fix it!All types of home maintenance: pressure washing, yard maintenance and more!

828-447-0669 or 828-817-4284

Days Inn is Hiring Housekeeping Apply in person: 626 W. Mills St Columbus, NC 828-894-3303 First Staffing Now Hiring •In-Home Aides •Textiles •Mental Health •Sewers •Weavers •Warpers •Production Workers Apply in person: 1987 Lynn Road, Suite A Columbus, NC 28722 Now Hiring Class A CDL Flatbed Drivers Local & Regional positions Pays 42 CPM Free health insurance!

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No phone calls.

Full-Time Chemical Dependency Techs Needed Due to Recent Program Expansion PAVILLON, a private residential treatment facility for adults recovering from substance abuse seeks full-time Chemical Dependency Techs. Evening, night and weekend shifts available. Requires high school/ GED equivalent or current counselor intern status and 12-step recovery knowledge. Positions are responsible for monitoring activities of patients to ensure optimal safety, support, structure, during evening, night and weekend hours. Must have safe driving record and be comfortable driving patients to appointments and meetings. Benefits for full-time employees includes: •medical/dental insurance •life insurance •long-term disability •generous paid time off policy •excellent 401k.

Download application at www.pavillon.org and fax to 828-694-2326 or email to HumanResourcesSupportTeam@ Pavillon.org.

Clean criminal background check and clean urine drug screen required. EOE NOW HIRING Full-time/Part-time Positions In: •Guest Services •Housekeeping •Maintenance/Landscaping Apply in Person: From 10 am-3pm 85 Pine Crest Lane No phone calls, please.

Polk County Schools Visit www.polkschools.org/ employment for more info & to apply Personnel 828-894-1001

LINE COOK Fast-Paced • Team OrientedFun Environment Kitchen experience preferred.

Submit Resume To: PURPLE ONION 16 Main St. Saluda, NC 28773 Looking for a Job? http://www.rpmhd.org/index. php/employment-opportunities South Carolina Elastic a division of Rhode Island Textile Company is expanding and hiring for full-time positions, all shifts. We offer Medical Insurance – 401(k) – Life Insurance Flexible Spending Accounts – Accrued Vacation – Seven Paid Holidays.

Apply in person at: 201 SC Elastic Road, Landrum, SC 29356 (8:30am to 4:00pm) EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Synergy In Action is seeking motivated, dedicated employees to work in group homes and in the community with adults with disabilities in Polk and Rutherford Counties. All Shifts Available.

Duties include, but not limited to: supervision of residents, assistance with daily activities, cooking, cleaning, etc. Applicants must be 18+ years old, have a HS diploma/GED, current driver’s license, be able to bend and lift, and have current automobile insurance.

Call 828-859-0259 for information.

The Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge is a new state of the art healthcare facility in Blowing Rock with positions available in Environmental Services and Nutrition Services. We offer competitive pay, benefits, paid vacation, and uniforms.

Apply online at: www.apprhs.org For more information: 828-262-4116 Meditation Free Wednesdays 7:00 P.M. In Tryon. Call for directions.

828-273-4342 White Oak of Tryon Currently Accepting Applications For: •1st Shift CNAs, Full-Time •PT weekend Baylor LPN 7a-7p and 7p-7a Apply in person: 70 Oak Street Tryon, NC 28739 Long-term Rental of cozy, small cottage with gourmet kitchen & fireplace, on horse farm.

Fully furnished. Stalls available.

Horse folks only! Near Landrum. $1,400/mo (864)542-7234 Barn for rent: 4-6 stalls on Hunting Country Road. Short hack to C.E.T.A. trails, fenced turnouts and riding area. $300 per stall unless you rent the whole barn. 864-382-9313 ***Negotiable***”

Looking to rent in Tryon?

Call Thousand Pines 828-817-3691

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June 2017 LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS