WALTER Magazine - September 2023

WALTER

Your children.

Your family.

Your health.

Your well-being.

Your place.

The Art & Soul of Raleigh

T H E A RT & S OU L O F R A L E IG H

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SEPTEMBER 2023

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SEPTEMBER 2023

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DEPARTMENTS

SEPTEMBER 2023

OUR TOWN

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29

SPORTS: Faith, Family & Football Catching up with Johnny Evans

33

MUSIC: A Change in Direction New tunes from The One Eighties

37

VAULT: Crafting a Legacy Our state’s history of furniture

41

NATURE: Look, But Don’t Touch Beware these stinging caterpillars

45

CREATORS: The Adventurous Child Illustrator Jesse White

49

SIMPLE LIFE: Squirrelly Business A battle with the furry pests

IN EVERY ISSUE 12

Editor’s Letter

16

Contributors

17

Your Feedback

21

Datebook

81

The Whirl

94

Extras

96

End Note

On the cover: Beacon of Freedom, the sculpture at the North Carolina Freedom Park. Photograph by Joshua Steadman.

8 | WALTER

Mallory Cash (WHITE); courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of History (CHAIR)

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FEATURES

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Getting to the Bones

by Liza Wolff-Francis illustration by Jillian Ohl

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Good Sports Getting to know the athletes in the North Carolina Senior Games words and photography by Eric Thompson

54 10 | WALTER

64

Artful Home Inside Debbie and Larry Robbins’ living gallery

by Ayn-Monique Klahre photography by Trey Thomas

74

Marking History Highlighting Civil Rights efforts at the community level

by Jamaul Moore photography by Joshua Steadman

Joshua Steadman (SHAW UNIVERSITY); Eric Thompson (LAURA BOTTO FROM SUPPLY, NC)

74

The Persian Carpet is Closing!

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Every item in our inventory will be marked down for immediate sale.

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EDITOR’S LETTER

We’ve had some little assistants this summer!

Jordan Milhouse and Juanita Shearer-Swink took Addie and her daughters on a tour of the Freedom Park, left. Another day, my youngest helped sort back issues.

W

hat is it about packing up that makes me so sentimental? As I’m writing this, we’re preparing to move from one side of the office to the other side of the office. Part of it involves consolidating several storage areas into one space, which means cleaning out loads of old files, back issues and office supplies to fit our new area. It’s so hard to part with old magazines, even though we’ll save copies (and have everything online!). So much work goes into making them!

We’re also each responsible for packing up our own desks, which has turned into an opportunity to go through our drawers and get rid of things we no longer need.

My coworkers will attest that I do not like clutter — at least, not visible clutter. So when you look at my clear desk, you might not think I have much stuff. But I also hate to get rid of something that might be useful in the future, and I’m pretty organized… so my desk is surprisingly full of things like stacks of napkins, gym clothes, salt and pepper packets, and a selection of business heels. And that’s just the non-work stuff!

My paper files are pretty lean these days, since we switched so many of our processes to electronic versions during the pandemic. But in my vertical folders, I keep all the letters from readers who’ve connected with articles in the magazines and thank-you notes from subjects we’ve featured. I have holiday cards from our contributors and the little drawings my kids have made for my cubicle over the years. I also keep all of my notebooks. I fill about one a year, all navy-blue softcover Moleskines. I’m not sure what I’m keeping them for… my memoirs? But I do like to flip through them now and again, sometimes rediscovering good ideas that fell by the wayside.

So needless to say, even though we were supposed to declutter, I hardly threw anything away. Even our old budget reports inspired nostalgia!

Of course, just as sentimental as I get cleaning out an old space, I’m excited to start fresh. Heading into September, with that back-to-school feeling, is the perfect time.

Speaking of starting fresh, if you’re getting WALTER in the mail for the first time, welcome! For 11 years, we have been sharing curated, authentic stories about Raleigh arts and culture. We hope you enjoy this issue.

Ayn-Monique Klahre, Editor ayn-monique@waltermagazine.com 12 | WALTER

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Peter and the Wolf

EDITORIAL

PUBLISHING

Editor AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE ayn-monique@waltermagazine.com

Publisher DAVID WORONOFF

Creative Director LAURA PETRIDES WALL laura@waltermagazine.com Associate Editor ADDIE LADNER addie@waltermagazine.com Contributing Writers A.J. Carr, Wiley Cash, Jim Dodson, Mike Dunn, Hampton Williams Hofer, David Menconi, Jamaul Moore, Eric Thompson, Liza Wolff-Francis Contributing Poetry Editor Jaki Shelton Green Contributing Copy Editor Finn Cohen Contributing Photographers Mallory Cash, Bob Karp, Joshua Steadman, Trey Thomas, Eric Thompson Contributing Illustrators Jillian Ohl, Gerry O’Neill

Advertising Sales Manager JULIE NICKENS julie@waltermagazine.com Senior Account Executive & Operations CRISTINA HURLEY cristina@waltermagazine.com Events Coordinator KARLIE MARLOWE events@waltermagazine.com Finance STEVE ANDERSON 910-693-2497 Distribution JACK BURTON Inquiries?

WALTER OFFICE 984-286-0928 Address all correspondence to: WALTER magazine, 421 Fayetteville Street, Suite 104 Raleigh, N.C. 27601

Interns Eliza Martin, Cecilia Roberts, Nelie Tahssili

SAT, APR 6, 2024 | 1PM & 4PM

Michelle Di Russo, conductor Young People’s Concert Series Sponsor: WakeMed Children’s

WALTER is available by paid subscriptions for $36 a year in the United States, as well as select rack and advertiser locations throughout the Triangle.

Subscribe online at waltermagazine.com/subscribe For customer service inquiries, please email us at customerservice@waltermagazine.com or call 984-286-0928.

WALTER does not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Please contact Ayn-Monique Klahre at ayn-monique@waltermagazine.com for freelance guidelines.

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Owners JACK ANDREWS, FRANK DANIELS III, LEE DIRKS, DAVID WORONOFF In memoriam FRANK DANIELS JR. © WALTER magazine. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Published 12 times a year by The Pilot LLC.

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HAMPTON WILLIAMS HOFER / W R I T ER Hampton Williams Hofer is a writer with degrees from The University of Virginia and New York University. Her work has appeared in Scary Mommy, Architectural Digest, Food 52 and Flying South, among others. When not working on her latest story, she is chasing her four young children or explaining Southern coloquialisms to her Swiss husband. “Getting to write about the History Museum’s furniture exhibit was fascinating as far as what I learned about the industry and its impact on our state. What’s more, it felt personal, since my family has been in the business of furniture distribution here for six generations.”

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P HOTO G R A P HE R A lifelong passion for architecture and interior design, coupled with a serious love of photography, led to Thomas switching careers in 2012 to focus exclusively on interiors and architectural photography. “It was a true joy photographing the Robbins house.

A great example of modern architecture at its best, the home combines natural materials with abundant views, lending to a wonderful flow between inside and out. Top that off with an incredible art collection, thoughtfully displayed throughout, and you have a real gem.”

ERIC THOMPSON / P H OTOGR A PH ER & WR I T ER Eric is a photographer and director from Vancouver, British Columbia who lives in Brooklyn, New York and has family in North Carolina. His work spans fine art, commercial and editorial work, using his curiosity of other lands and cultures to explore the world. Focusing on themes like Americana, religion, aging infrastructure and regional oddities, he uses an outsider’s perspective to emphasize realities that carry a remarkable and unassuming beauty, humor and humanity.

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JAMAUL MOORE / W R I TE R Jamaul Moore is a passionate writer who enjoys exploring the history or cultural significance of any given subject, as he believes it creates a better understanding of our community. He graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina A&T State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications.

“I’ve lived in North Carolina for almost my entire life and it was amazing to learn about these different Civil Rights events, as they didn’t teach about them in school.

After working on this story, I gained a better understanding of our history and walked away inspired by the courageous stories behind each historical marker.”

FEEDBACK We love to hear from you!

The staff at Boulted Bread were excited about their cover story!

“Wanted to let y’all know how much I loved the July cover. All the yellow made me so happy! Kept it on my desk all month!”

— Lisa McIntosh “WHOA! From the sunflowers to the sea dive to the sweaty grapplers!!

Best. Issue. Ever????”

— Billy Warden “Congratulations on another spectacular issue! Bob’s breathtaking photography of the Painted Bunting will forever resonate with me like an arrow still trembling in the target.”

— Jason Miller “I LOVED the cover of the last issue. Truly beautiful. I love Boulted Bread and the article on Tom and Pat Gipson.”

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THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 17

M ERCER COLLECTION AVA I L A B L E AT

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SEPTEMBER 14 - OCTOBER 1, 2023 F L E TC H E R O P E R A T H E AT E R 919-719-0900 | CarolinaBallet.com | Ticketmaster.com Sponsored by:

OUR TOWN This month kicks off the performing arts season — and hosts some of our favorite homegrown festivals

by ADDIE LADNER

courtesy NC Symphony (PRIETO, FLORES); courtesy Carolina Ballet (BALLERINA)

Clockwise from top left: Chatham Rabbits; Dasan Ahanu; Patrick Dougherty; Rissi Palmer

Left to right: NC Symphony conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto; Firebird; Pacho Flores.

PERFORMING ARTS SEASON BEGINS! September marks the beginning of the fall performing arts season, with our local music, dance and theater organizations putting their best work forward. From Sept. 14 - 30, the Carolina Ballet will present Firebird, a Russian folk tale with breathtaking choreography and visuals. “Firebird reflects the generous spirit of the creative work we do here,” says artistic director Zalman Raffael. “This production will delight seasoned ballet-goers and new audiences alike. We’re also sharing a world premiere by Gianna Reisen, an esteemed choreographer who will be contributing to the program, a great way to kick off this year’s season.” (from $27; 2 E. South Street; carolinaballet.com). From Sept. 16 - 24, Raleigh Little Theatre will debut Last Stop on Market Street, a musical adapted from the award-winning children’s book by Matt de la Peña. The plot follows a curious young boy and his grandmother on a Sunday afternoon bus ride (from $18; 301 Pogue Street; raleighlittletheatre.org). The North Carolina Symphony kicks off its season, themed “A New Era,” under the new musical direction of the esteemed Carlos Miguel Prieto with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 and Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Meymandi Concert Hall. “Haydn’s concerto is a beautiful, powerful experience; a piece that we all know very well, so a great way to open the season,” says Prieto of selecting it as the opener. “And Pacho Flores is one of the best musicians I’ve ever worked with. Anything I can tell you about Pacho will fall way, way short. He’s a sensational trumpet player.” (from $26; 2 E. South Street; ncsymphony.org).

All information is accurate as of press time, but please check waltermagazine.com and the event websites for the latest updates.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 21

DATEBOOK ART WITHIN REACH

Fall Styles Arriving Daily

Sept. 1 & 2 | Various times For Crystal Clark, every fingertip holds the potential to be a canvas for selfexpression. Clark has become popular for her hip, intricate nail designs at her salon Nail Yeah!, and this month, she’s hosting an open studio and art exhibition to showcase the breadth of design possibilities from herself and other nail artists in the community. The evening will include light bites, good tunes and creativity. “I created this as a fun way for nail art lovers to get together and to bring awareness of local talent,” says Clark. “The name was inspired by the fact that manicurists are artists themselves creating on tiny canvases.” Free; 432 Hill Street; nailyeah.com

blooms will be on display from growers in Virginia, South Carolina and all around North Carolina. Shop for a few to take home along with gardening supplies before talking to the pros about best practices. Free; 4415 Beryl Road; jcra.ncsu.edu

Sept. 7 - 9 | Various times Raleigh will be rocking for three-plus days at the Hopscotch Music Festival.

This homegrown celebration will have main stages at City Plaza and Moore Square, plus shows at various downtown venues. The headliners include national names like Pavement, Denzel Curry and Japanese Breakfast, but the festival showcases up-and-coming acts, too, like British country singer Lola Kirke and New York-based Afrofunk group Kaleta & Super Yamba Band. Plus, plenty of North Carolina performers will be on stage, including Lesthegenius, Larry & Joe and Skylar Gudasz. Alongside the stages, dozens of bars and restaurants will host day parties showcasing local talent. From $149; see website for locations; hopscotchmusicfest.com

FALL FOR ORCHIDS

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Sept. 8 - 10 | Various times Experience a gorgeous display of color at the seventh annual Fall for Orchids Show, put on by the Triangle Orchid Society. This free event is open to the public and last year attracted more than 1,500 guests, who delighted in the delicate flower’s myriad shades and forms. Around 250 of the tropical

AFTERNOON TEA

Sept. 14 - 16 | Various times Enjoy a European-style afternoon tea inside the Boylan Heights mansionturned-hotel Heights House. From oolong to herbals, you’ll find a wide range of teas, plus sweet treats from pastry shop lucettegrace and classic house-made tea sandwiches (cucumber and cream cheese, jam and chevre).

There’s champagne, too! Heights House will offer two seatings, with just eight guests at a time, so book early to enjoy a classy relaxed summer afternoon.

If you don’t make it in September, Heights House is planning on making this a monthly event. $60; 308 S. Boylan Avenue; heightshousenc.com

BUGFEST

Sept. 16 | 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Get cozy with your favorite invertebrates at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ annual BugFest.

The free event — themed around spiders this year — is the biggest insect-themed festival in the country.

Inside the museum, guests can interact with local entomologists and see rare preserved specimens from their col-

courtesy Heights House

HOPSCOTCH MUSIC FESTIVAL

WHERE OUR SPIRITS RESIDE

Sept. 22 - 24 | 7 p.m.

S.P. Murray

Big-name creatives from our region are collaborating with Paperhand Puppet Intervention for its annual summer show. North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green and Grammy-nominated musicians Nnenna Freelon and Pierce Freelon will be a part of Where Our Spirits Reside, a show about loss, love and growth. The show will be at the North Carolina Museum of Art’s Joseph M. Bryan, Jr., Theater in the Museum Park for three nights. Get there early — preshow entertainment starts about an hour beforehand. From $10; 2110 Blue Ridge Road; paperhand.org

lections. Outside, there are dozens of bug-themed activities, including the Dung Beetle Race (where kids compete to roll a large ball made to look like poo), eight-limbed martial arts and arthropod olympics. And, of course, there’s the Café Insecta, where kids (and adults!) can sample bug-filled dishes prepared by local chefs. Some possibilities on this year’s menu: Krunchy Cricket Mac & Cheese, Bugnana Pudding and Icee Insects. Are you hungry yet? Free; 11 W. Jones Street; naturalsciences.org

COFFEE AND CULTURE

Sept. 19 | 8 - 9:30 a.m.

Get to know the people and organizations that fuel our vibrant arts scene and make Wake County a great place to live at this event hosted by the United Arts Council of Wake County at Marbles Kids Museum. Hear from Jeremy Tucker — the director of arts education for Wake County Public School System — and enjoy networking and locally made breakfast goods from Yellow Dog Bread Company, Lucettegrace and Esteamed Coffee. Speakers will get your creativity flowing before heading

out to your regular workday inspired and well-fed. “This is a wonderful networking event highlighting the upcoming cultural arts season and the sponsors, government officials and individuals who champion our incredible arts scene across Wake County,” says Jennifer McEwen, president and CEO of United Arts Council. $25; 201 E. Hargett Street; unitedarts.org

BOTTOMS UP

Sept. 15 | 6:30 p.m.

Did you know that diapers are classified as “luxury items” and not covered by federal programs like SNAP or WIC? This means that one in two families in Wake County have to choose between purchasing food or paying bills and buying diapers for their little ones.

“Access to diapers reduces mental and financial stress on caregivers, resulting in fewer cases of domestic violence, and reduces child health issues by preventing infections, rashes and other illnesses,” says Katie Landi, executive director of Diaper Train. Help raise money to get more diapers and sanitary items to people in need at its annual event, Bottoms Up, while enjoying live

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THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 23

DATEBOOK RETURN TO PARRISH STREET: A DREAM REALIZED In August, Linda Shropshire opened Ella West Gallery, a contemporary art space with a mission to represent diverse artists. Shropshire, a member of the Board of Trustees for the NCMA, felt that its location on Parrish Street was of paramount importance. “Ella West Gallery is in the historic Clements building on Durham’s Black Wall Street, which once housed the printing presses of 1920s-era Black newspaper THe Durham Reformer,” she says. “As we showcase a new class of artists poised to shape the future of art history, I am thrilled this space will once again be a destination for raising marginalized voices.” The gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Return to Parrish Street: A Dream Realized, is a group show featuring new work from locals including photographer Kennedi Carter, painter Clarence Heyward and collage artist Ransome. The show is dedicated to the memory of the late Ernie Barnes, a Durham-born artist and professional football player known for painting THe Sugar Shack (1976), which made headlines in 2022 when it sold at auction at Christie’s for $15.2M, a personal record for him. Free admission; 104 W. Parrish Street, Durham; ellawestgallery.com

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Courtesy Ella West Gallery

All month | Various times

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music and catering and libations from HL Catering, R&D Brewing and Wine Water. $75; 616 Tucker Street; diapertrain.org

SOLA HOT MINI 5K

Catherine Nguyen

Sept. 16 | 8:30 a.m.

Help raise money to put an end to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at the annual Sola Hot Mini 5K. Now in its 10th year, the annual fundraising race honors Jeanne Luther, who cofounded Sola Coffee Cafe with her husband John. Jeanne passed away from the incurable disease in 2022, just three and a half years after being diagnosed. Their efforts to date have raised around half a million dollars for research. The route kicks off and ends at Sola, weaving through neighborhoods in between. From $40; 7705 Lead Mine Road; solahotmini5k.com

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CHAIRITY

Sept. 20 - 23 | Various times More than 6,000 Wake County children are currently sleeping on floors or sharing crowded beds with others — but through its annual fundraiser, Chairity, The Green Chair Project hopes to help 2,000 of those children.

Chairity is a three-day event where guests can shop from curated vignettes by area decorators, bid on one-ofa-kind furnishings through a silent auction and participate in design workshops, with all proceeds going toward their year-round work. From $35; 1853 Capital Boulevard; greenchair.org

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THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 25

DATEBOOK RALEIGH’S HUMBLE LANDMARKS

Sept. 22 - Oct. 21 | Various times Textile artist Caitlin Cary will unveil a new body of work, Raleigh’s Humble Landmarks, at the Boylan Heights grocer and cafe Rebus Works. Created from reclaimed swatches of upholstery fabrics and stitches, Cary’s meticulous needle prints are textured depictions of the buildings and streetscapes that make Raleigh unique. The work makes a statement about Raleigh’s fast-track development. “This series includes a few still-extant landmarks, along with many that have fallen to ‘progress,’ or whose facades have been updated or downgraded,” says Cary. “Fabric works to make our beloved buildings become even more sentimental because it offers softness, protection and comfort, and needlework is a time-honored way to hand down history. I just love being a cipher for that.” Join Cary and the rest of the community for an opening

26 | WALTER

reception on Sept. 22 from 6 - 8 p.m. or enjoy the show on your own time through October. Free; 301-2 Kinsey Street; caitlincary.com

MIPSO

Sept. 24 | 7 p.m.

Chapel Hill-born string band Mipso will hit the stage at Lincoln Theatre this month to celebrate its latest album, Book of Fools. It’s a relaxed, lyrical group of songs that includes an homage to our home state. If you’re a superfan, you can purchase premium tickets and enjoy an acoustic performance, Q&A with the band (where you can request which songs you want to hear) and early entry inside. From $30; 126 E. Cabarrus Street; lincolntheatre.com

BLUEGRASS LIVE!

Sept. 29 - 30 | Various times The strummers, pickers and crooners are back! Our own City of Oaks hosts

the largest urban bluegrass festival in the world, which celebrates the end of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual convention. And around the convention, there’s music galore at the IBMA Bluegrass Live! festival. A $25 day pass will get you entrance to Bluegrass Ramble, with smaller shows at six different venues around downtown (Sept. 26 - 28). Purchase single- or two-day passes to hear headliners like Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, The Del McCoury Band and The Kruger Brothers, who will play at Red Hat Amphitheater and the Martin Marietta Center for Performing Arts on Friday and Saturday. Or go to the street festival for free: there, you’ll find five blocks and six stages of music along Fayetteville Street, with food, drink and an arts market to explore.

Free or reserved seats from $25; downtown Raleigh; worldofbluegrass.org

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SPORTS

Faith, Family & FOOTBALL

A star quarterback, Johnny Evans found his calling off the field

A

s a high school, college and professional football player, Johnny Evans carved a career that sparkled with headlines and highlights.

As a youngster he was a “Punt, Pass and Kick” kid — a three-time state champion, two-time regional champ and fourth-place finisher in the PP&K national competition. At High Point Andrews High School, he was a prep AllAmerican quarterback before he arrived

by A.J. CARR photography by BOB KARP at North Carolina State University.

With an “athlete’s foot,” strong legs and accurate arm, Evans thrived at NC State under coaches Lou Holtz and Bo Rein, both successful and distinctly different personalities. “I loved both of them,’’ Evans says. “Coach Rein was in his 30s, close to our age. He was a very good motivator. He was a player’s coach, there was a friendship.”

With his low-key style and high-powered coaching, Rein guided State to its

last ACC football championship in 1979.

Meanwhile, Holtz was fast-moving and fast-talking, quick with a quip and a masterful motivator who went on to win a national championship at Notre Dame.

Holtz knew how to loosen players up, fire ’em up and win games — 33 in four seasons.

“Coach Holtz had a great sense of humor and was very emotional,’’ Evans says. “He got your respect. He was a very strong leader. He sat in on quarterback THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 29

SPORTS meetings with a special eye. It was difficult at times. But it was a benefit for me to play for him. I loved him.”

Sometimes, if Holtz’s team wasn’t gelling in practice, he would call everybody to midfield and do a magic trick — like pulling a coin out of a player’s ear. But Evans also saw the coach’s feisty side: One time, Wolfpack team buses arrived at Arizona State’s stadium on game day and found the gate entrance blocked. While a security guard spoke to the driver, Holtz jumped out of the bus and tossed the barricade onto the side of the road.

“We were already jazzed up… that energized us,” Evans says.

Whether it was Holtz or Rein at the helm, Evans kept honing his quarterback skills and sending punts soaring into the stratosphere. He averaged 46.1 yards per kick his All-America junior year and posted a 44-yard career average.

Old-timers will remember a 83-yard quick kick at Penn State in 1975, a pivotal punt with the clock ticking down in the Wolfpack’s nerve-grinding, 15-14 upset victory. “It was the only quick kick I ever attempted,’’ Evans says. “It was unique… Coach Holtz pulled it out of the bag at just the right time.”

There was another magical moment that season: Trailing top-10-ranked Florida 7-0, NC State scored late in the fourth quarter and Holtz called for a two-point conversion attempt — to go for the win, boom or bust. The play? A pitchout from quarterback Dave Buckey to Evans, who was playing halfback. “I had the option of running or passing,’’ Evans explains. “I ran and got my right hand right on the flag, barely broke the plane of the goal line. We won 8-7. It was a big victory.”

When Buckey graduated after a stellar four-year career, Evans played quarterback his last two seasons. It wasn’t all fun and games. Evans struggled through a frustrating 3-7-1 junior season, which he calls the most “disappointing” period of his football career.

Ever resilient, he bounced back his senior season, leading the Wolfpack to 30 | WALTER

Evans works at his desk with the Bible.

an 8-4 record. He led a Peach Bowl win over Iowa State and earned the game MVP award. On that memorable afternoon in Atlanta, Evans ran for 62 yards and one touchdown, passed for 202 yards and two touchdowns and averaged 45 yards on six punts.

Holtz had left NC State two years prior, but wasn’t surprised to hear about Evans’ heroics. “I was confident in his future,” says Holtz, who’s now retired and living in Orlando, Florida. “It was obvious that he would be a great athlete. He was a great punter and a great Christian young man that players rallied around.”

“He was one everyone looked up to,” says teammate and Outland Trophy winner Jim Ritcher, citing Evans’ spiritual and on-field leadership. “He was a huge factor in our ranking 18th in the nation.”

Evans went on to play three years with the Cleveland Browns as a punting specialist, yet never got in a game at quarterback, which was another big disappointment. He spent the next three seasons in the Canadian Football League as a quarterback and kicker, which he said “was much more fun.”

All that football was thrilling and rewarding, but Evans says the brightest moment didn’t come on the field: It

came earlier, when he attended his first Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp in Black Mountain, North Carolina, as a 16-year-old. In that scenic setting he listened to Bible verses, prayers and testimonies from Miami Dolphin players and other men of faith.

“I heard God speak to me that week,’’ Evans says. “I surrendered my life to Christ. I became a Christian.”

Inspired by the experience, Evans went back home and started an FCA Huddle at High Point Andrews High School, and two years later at NC State, he was instrumental in forming a Wolfpack FCA Huddle.

After his six-year fling in pro football, Evans entered the real estate business in Raleigh. While working, he served on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Board, then joined the staff full time in 1994. He’s now in his 29th year as its Eastern North Carolina FCA director.

During that time the staff has grown from one person to 50. With the help of volunteers, the FCA ministers in 500 middle-school, high-school and college huddles for students and coaches stretching from the Triangle to the coast. Hundreds also attend summer camps throughout the state.

Conceived in 1954, the FCA’s Mission is “to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches.” Along with FCA ministering, Evans and his wife, Beth, have led a non-denominational Bible Study at Providence Baptist Church since the mid-1990s. Up to 500 people attend weekly sessions, study in small groups and listen to their lectures.

“Johnny and Beth have done so much for so many people through Christianity,” says Lou Pucillo, a former NC State basketball All-America who has attended the men’s study for 18 years. “Johnny is the very best at supporting you and teaching, and he is very humble. He gives all credit to the Lord.”

Ross Rhudy, a long-time Bible Study administrator, agrees: “Johnny is the ideal example of walking the talk. What he teaches, encourages, he does himself.

He’s about living a faithful life, doing the right thing, obedience to God. His

level of commitment and conviction is unwavering.”

“Johnny is an influencer, very inspiring, so clear, so effective in communication,’’ Rhudy adds. “People look at him as the rock.”

Evans, now 67, is still physically fit — just 2 pounds over his playing weight, he notes, thanks in part to a regular workout regimen. Throughout the years he has remained closely connected to football, working as radio analyst at NC State games for 38 seasons. He has seen thousands of plays — spectacular plays, broken plays — but one is etched indelibly in his memory: When Daniel, his son and a quarterback, threw a touchdown pass in the final seconds to spark the Wolfpack to a dramatic victory over Boston College. "It was very special, definitely a highlight for me,” says Evans.

Evans did the postgame interview with his son, whose pass capped a scintillating 75-yard winning drive. “I asked him

what he was thinking,” Evans says. “He said he prayed and thanked God for the opportunity. I told him that might be the pinnacle of his career.” Matt Ryan, who became an NFL star, was the BC quarterback. Tom O’Brien, the BC coach, later became State’s head coach.

Today, each of Evans’ adult children — he and Beth have quadruplets — work in the ministry. Daniel is pastoring a campus church near Asheville, while his brother Andrew, a former State receiver, is chief financial officer at the FCA headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Their daughter Quinn is doing mission work in North Africa while Katherine works part time with a ministry in Durham.

Meanwhile, Evans plans to continue serving in the FCA, leading Bible Study with Beth, connecting with children and grandchildren, and providing analysis for Wolfpack fans over the airwaves.

As always, it’s about faith, family and football.

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MUSIC

a CHANGE in direction Chrystal Kelly

The One Eighties are a new band with a back-to-the-dance-club vibe

by DAVID MENCONI

W

hen we last heard from Daniel Cook and Autumn Brand, it was with their former band New Reveille.

They were playing the sort of amped-up country-rock you could imagine hearing in a big arena, opening for Eric Church or Tim McGraw.

Fast forward a couple of years, and they’re on to a whole new thing. Cook and Brand’s latest music is more like something you’d hear in a dance club circa 1980, segued between New Order

and Modern English. Chilly and atmospheric, it’s well-crafted synth-pop that’s heavy on vintage sonic textures — which is why they’re calling the new band The One Eighties. The pivot from twang has its roots in a cross-country road trip that Cook and Brand took during the depths of the pandemic shutdown in 2020.

“Autumn and I had been writing what we thought was going to be the next New Reveille album, but then things fell apart with the pandemic, and it was just the two of us,” Cook says. “The more we wrote, the more the music started to

sound different. It took about a year of writing and experimenting to figure out our new thing, and we decided on that name because it was such a change. That’s pretty much our personality types, anyway. We’re always changing our minds about everything.”

Garner native Cook started out playing in rock bands before falling under the spell of Doc Watson while working on a documentary about the folk-music icon for UNC-TV, which got him playing banjo. That led him to country-rock with New Reveille. Meanwhile, Brand had THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 33

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moved to the Triangle from her native Seattle 13 years ago to be closer to her mother (who had moved here earlier).

She played in a series of bands before joining New Reveille as violinist and singer in time for the group’s 2018 album THe Keep. But when the pandemic shut down the entire music industry, the group dissolved little by little until it was just Brand and Cook.

“All we knew was that we wanted to continue making music,” says Brand of their pandemic road trip. “That was the reason to go across the country — Who knows, maybe we’ll find our sound! — which seems silly, but that’s what happened in the car, talking for God-knows-how-many hours. Driving through the Southwest, it looked like another planet. Especially with every city locked down.”

In those long conversations, they sketched out their new group’s sonic blueprint: synthesized pop with orchestral sounds and a cinematic, end-of-the-

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MUSIC

world feel. The One Eighties began as a studio project where Brand and Cook recorded before playing live. (That’s a reversal of the usual order of things in the music business, where typically musicians perform their work before recording it.)

Enlisting help from both local and national musicians, many of whom were available at bargain prices due to the pandemic shutdown, Cook and Brand made their debut album on the cheap.

The couple did the bulk of recording in their home studio in Cary, then turned to crowdfunding to cover the expense of independently releasing the record, raising almost $1,000 more than their $5,500 goal in a Kickstarter campaign.

The resulting album, Minefields, is a sharp effort with well-drawn hooks and arrangements spotlighting Brand’s dusky voice. They did such a fine job that engineer Steve Fallone (who handled the album’s post-recording mastering with Greg Calbi) couldn’t believe it was a home recording. “A lot of indie projects can sound very subpar, but I was very impressed,” says Fallone, a Grammy-winning engineer whose credits include Kacey Musgraves, The National and Father John Misty. “Great songs and writing and vocals, very tight and very talented musicians. I could tell they had a thing going on.”

“It took about a year of writing and experimenting to figure out our new thing, and we decided on that name because it was such a change.”

— Daniel Cook The overall atmosphere of Minefields is heavy to the point of doomy, which Brand attributes to her having grown up in rainy Seattle. “Minor-key songs touching on beautiful sad parts, that’s kind of my thing,” she says with a laugh.

“A lot of it is brooding and kind of a bummer, but that’s what seems to come out,” says Cook. “We were writing the truth, it was a dark time of things falling apart.”

They’ll spend this fall and the early part of 2024 hitting the road to play live with a touring band to take Minefields into the world. Even though it hasn’t been out long, they’re already working on material for the next album — which may or may not be a lighter affair than this one.

“Where you’re at in emotions and life can be ahead of where your music is, as you process and heal and figure things out,” says Cook. “Then you move on.”

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THe Art & Soul of Raleigh 35PM 8/10/23 |2:08

VAULT Left to right: Phillips Collection Seatbelt Chair, Mary Webb Wood Chair and Campaign Chair.

CRAFTING a LEGACY

Exploring furniture-making in North Carolina

F

rom the loading docks in High Point to the pinewood forests in the coastal plains, the legacy of the home furniture industry is a centuries-old, fundamental piece of North Carolina’s economy and identity. A new exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of History tells this story. Furniture: Crafting a North Carolina Legacy traces the unique history of more than 40 illustrative pieces and delves into the communities of crafters who

by HAMPTON WILLIAMS HOFER established our state as an international leader in home furnishings.

The exhibit, which opens this month, travels from colonial to modern times, and from the backyard shops to the mechanized factories that continue to help drive North Carolina’s economy.

“I hope visitors will find a new appreciation for furniture,” says Michael Ausbon, curator of decorative arts for the NCMH and curator of the exhibit.

“When we’re hurrying around in the

morning trying to get clothes out of a chest of drawers, we aren’t thinking about who made it, or where it came from. But a person put it together, and their history and culture are a part of the furniture.”

Each of the featured pieces highlights a unique history. One of them is a corner cupboard made by Tilden J. Stone, a master furniture-maker born in Thomasville in 1874, who was highly skilled in whimsical and exotic carvings.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 37

VAULT Stone was known for making pieces like sideboards with legs carved to resemble shotguns so realistic one would try to pick them up. This corner cabinet is adorned with intricately carved birds, horses, cows and snakes. On top sits a trompe-l'œil suitcase. “It all looks like someone was just there,” says Ausbon.

“It’s uncanny, the work that Stone did.

So much of his work stayed unnoticed in Lenoir — where he lived most of his adult life — because he made mostly custom pieces for local clients who never sold them.”

A corner cabinet and side table carved by Tilden J. Stone and a bedside table designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Hendredon Furniture.

“It’s about connection, looking at a piece and thinking about the story of it.. and how it came to be.”

— Michael Ausbon The exhibit isn’t only the old-timey stuff. Ausbon was sure to bring in modern touches, like a seatbelt chair

by Phillips Collection, a global icon in organic contemporary furniture and decor that stocks its vast collection in a 400,000-square foot distribution center in High Point. The chair consists of dozens of bright seatbelt straps woven onto a wooden frame, reinforced with metal, creating a stiletto heel profile.

(Fun fact: The one in the NCMH’s exhibit is a replica of chairs used in a scene in THe Hunger Games film.)

Spanning 10 sections, the 3,500-square foot exhibit also includes videos, photos, pieces to touch and explorations of the furniture-making process. Visitors can see the difference between wood samples and learn about the upholstery stuffing process (which at various times included materials like Spanish moss, feathers and animal hair). There are desks to sit behind, and even a timemounted clock where visitors can punch out and take their time cards home.

“The community effort behind the early furniture industry was huge,” 38 | WALTER

Ausbon says. “Local families saw a way to make money, friends formed businesses together in their backyards and community members all supported each other.” The exhibit nods to that group effort by showcasing the roles of those who worked behind the scenes, notably the women of the industry, who ran companies while men were at war or fashioned furniture while male crafters got the notoriety.

The industry thrived as railroads expanded. The exhibit shows how factories in High Point built their loading docks level with the train tracks, so they could roll the furniture right off the factory

floor. North Carolina had shipped out over 30,000 train carloads of furniture by the 1930s. Even now, in the age of mass production, trucks and international shipping, High Point remains a furniture mecca, with the biannual High Point Furniture Market — the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world — bringing some $6.7 billion a year to the local economy in what is the state’s single largest moneymaking event.

The exhibit also includes a note on sustainability and conservation. Part of what first drew the furniture industry to North Carolina was the vast forests

of oak, pine and sweetgum trees, but by 1922, 300,000 acres of timber had been clear-cut. In recent decades, there has been a cultural shift around the value of and connection to furniture. A century ago, handmade furniture pieces were considered priceless heirlooms, passed down within families. (Ausbon has stories of families coming to blows over a beloved piece, with bad blood carrying on through several generations.) Out-of-date furnishings would have been relegated to less important areas, like from the front of the house to the back. Unused furniture might have been sold at estate sales, broken up for firewood, or, for someone in debt, even sold on the courthouse steps. But today, according to the EPA, some 12 million tons of furniture are thrown away annually nationwide. “These days, fewer people value the family connection and appreciate antiques, and feel these older pieces just don’t fit into our modern lifestyles,” says Ausbon.

To that end, the exhibit urges upcycling. “Maybe you don’t like your mother’s brown chest of drawers,” Ausbon says, “but you can paint it or change the drawer pulls, and keep the heritage of the piece.” To prove his point, Ausbon bought what he describes as “an old, junky piece of furniture” from a thrift store and gave it to local artist Cornelio Campos to paint. Campos transformed the chest in a burst of color that depicts the history of his family, which immigrated from Mexico to North Carolina, using sweeping landscapes and religious symbolism. “It shows people what you can do,” Ausbon says.

Across time, styles and crafting methods, what remains is the continuity of function. We still need places to sit or to store our belongings — but as we use our furniture, maybe the exhibit will give us an appreciation for its bigger role in our culture and the resources and effort that went into creating it for our home. “It's about connection,” Ausbon says, “looking at a piece and thinking about the story of it, what happened and how it came to be.”

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Clockwise from top left: Stinging Rose Caterpillar, Crowned Slug, Saddleback Caterpillar, Spun Glass Slug.

look, but don’t TOUCH

Spring Beauty

Caterpillars with stinging spines words and photographs by MIKE DUNN

NATURE

very so often while weeding in our yard, I’ll reach in to grab a plant and suddenly feel a burning sensation on my arm.

It’s like a mild wasp sting, the pain lasting a few minutes and usually accompanied by a slight red welt. But instead of getting upset, I’ll excitedly start looking for the cause. And when I turn over the leaf, I know the culprit: a Saddleback Caterpillar.

Unmistakable once you see one, the Saddleback Caterpillar is named for the resemblance of the large brown spot on its back to, you guessed it, a saddle. It’s one of the most common of the “urticators,” or stinging caterpillars, in our region. Either end of this 1-inch long larva has prominent horns armed with numerous stinging spines. There are also clumps of spines all along the lower edge of its body.

Before you start to panic, don’t worry: Stinging caterpillars are not that common. Of the almost 12,000 species of caterpillars identified in the United States, only about 50 are known to cause harm to humans. Locally, we have only a dozen or so that you should avoid. And our local stinging larvae usually cause no more than a slight startle and mild burning sensation.

Stinging caterpillars do not sting in the same way as bees and wasps. Female bees and wasps have stingers at the tip of their abdomen; their stingers are actually highly modified ovipositors (egg-laying structures) with associated venom glands. A wasp inserts its stinger and pumps venom into your skin leading to the burning sensation (and possibly other medical issues for certain people) that most associate with a sting.

By contrast, stinging caterpillars like the Saddleback have urticating hairs, which are hollow hairs or spines that contain venom. These can easily break off if touched by a passing animal and inject the venom, causing varying degrees of pain depending on the number of hairs touched and the species in question. (There are lots of caterpillars that have hairy but non-venomous THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 41

NATURE

A Puss caterpillar, left, and Monkey Slug caterpillar.

bodies. A few of those, like Whitemarked Tussock Moth larvae, can cause skin irritation on sensitive individuals.)

Caterpillars with urticating hairs come in a variety of beautiful and unusual shapes. Here are a few of the ones that live in our area that I think are the most interesting.

Reaching 2.5 inches in length, the larva of the beautiful Io Moth is the largest of our local stingers. They feed on a variety of plants and are easily recognized in their late stages by the lime green color, red and white stripes along the middle, and clusters of sharp spines on each segment. Young larvae are brownish and feed in groups.

One of the more unusual-looking larvae (and said to be the most painful) is the Puss Moth caterpillar. It goes by many other names including Asp, and, in Mexico, el perrito (little dog). Due to its furry appearance, I tend to think of it as a crawling eyebrow, but a new favorite I recently saw is “toxic toupee.”

Do not touch this one! The long hairs cover an array of spines that can inflict a very painful sting. A friend of mine once brushed against one and had to go to the ER because the pain had become very intense and spread upward into her neck. She ended up being fine, but this is one I treat very carefully. Luck42 | WALTER

ily, most people will never see one, as they spend their life cycle in trees. Each year we have to look hard to find them for our caterpillar display at the annual BugFest event at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (this year on Sept. 16). They feed primarily on tree leaves and form their cocoons on the twigs, so you may only see one if it accidentally drops out of its host tree.

The Crowned Slug is both strange and beautiful and is one of my favorites to find. The so-called “slug caterpillars” are a family that includes many stinging larvae (like the Saddleback mentioned above). They all lack noticeable legs and instead have sucker-like structures on their undersides; they seem to glide rather than crawl. This species can be found late into the fall feeding on the undersides of tree leaves (primarily oaks).

The small Stinging Rose Caterpillar is a noticeably spiky member of the slug caterpillar group. They are brilliantly colored in red, yellow or orange stripes and feed on the leaves of a variety of woody plants.

Perhaps the strangest, least caterpillar-looking of our local stinging caterpillars is known by a couple of appropriately odd names, including Monkey Slug and Hag Moth Caterpillar. With

multiple curved hairy arms, it looks like a hairy spider or the disheveled hair of a fairy tale witch. There are clusters of spines along their lower edge, but some researchers claim they do not sting (I haven’t tested this theory). We usually find them on the leaves of trees.

There is one slug caterpillar, the Spun Glass Slug, that has been on my wish-tofind list for many years (don’t you have a caterpillar wish list?). A few years ago, while using a UV flashlight to search for live specimens to display at BugFest, I saw a glowing spot on a leaf over our heads. We used a stick to pull the tree limb closer and there it was! These dazzling caterpillars truly look like a piece of glass art. They are apparently rare (I’ve never found one again), but now I can’t help but look at the undersides of every oak and beech tree I come across in late summer.

Here’s hoping I haven’t frightened you. The vast majority of caterpillars are harmless and play an incredibly important role in our environment. The odds are you will never see any stinging caterpillars, unless you visit the Caterpillarology booth at BugFest. But now you know: if it’s hairy, be wary; if it’s spiky, no likey.

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CREATORS

Jesse White, right, and one of her illustrations.

The Adventurous Child Illustrator Jesse White’s major minors

W

by WILEY CASH photography by MALLORY CASH

hen Jesse White worked as an elementary school art teacher, she felt that her students’ personalities and identities weren’t reflected in the teaching materials she was provided. So she took matters into her own hands, literally, by drawing all of her own classroom materials. It was an effort to convey how much she valued each child, to make sure they were represented. And today, as a full-time illustrator, White creates empowering books for children that show smart, curious, adventurous and diverse protagonists exploring the world.

This conviction to portray the world as children see them-

selves in it comes from her own childhood outside Siler City, where, she grew up with her mother, Gwen Overturf, and her father, Eddie White, on 10 acres of land along the Rocky River.

“Childhood is a primary inspiration for me,” she says on a bright afternoon at her home in Durham. “I’m someone who loves nostalgia and likes thinking about ways that we can reconnect with our childhood or just the child inside of us.

And so that’s what I do all day; I go back to little Jesse, who was spending a lot of time in the woods with my mom and by myself exploring the rocks near our house, coming up with games, ideas and secret missions that I would go on.”

The Art & Soul of Raleigh | 45

CREATORS

White at work, left, and Reading Window.

“I was drawing stuff that my classmates had never really Jesse was home-schooled until second grade and accompaseen before,” she says. “So maybe that’s where that difference nied her mother to various jobs in landscaping and at a goat showed up.” dairy. She was left free to explore. “I would spend a ton of Jesse gained inspiration not only from the woods around time with the dog and the goats and go wandering off into her, but also from her parents, both of whom were arts-orithe woods,” she says. ented. Her mother had a background in graphic design and When her mother began teaching at the former Commuexperience in education. Although her nity Independent School, an alternafather had a similar background, he tive elementary school in Pittsboro, designed and built houses for much of Jesse followed. And then she was off her childhood. to public school for middle school and When she was in middle school he high school. shifted away from construction and be“I’ve had a pretty big range of educame a full-time artist, creating largecational experiences. Looking back on scale metal sculptures and installations, it, even though there were some diffiincluding one for the Hilton Hotel in cult transitions, I wouldn’t trade it for Kuala Lumpur. sure. I value a lot of what I picked up It was in college at the University of and learned at each of those different — Jesse White North Carolina at Chapel Hill that Jesse types of schools,” she says. first considered pursuing a career in But she felt different from other arts education. kids. After years of milking goats, “It was this wonderful answer to what had been missing roaming the woods and developing elaborate games on her for me,” she says. “I enjoyed making art, but I was like, Man, own, how could she not? She was more interested in the natthis is missing a social aspect somehow. What can I be doing to use ural world than superheroes or Barbies.

“That’s what I do all day; I go back to little Jesse, who was spending a lot of time in the woods with my mom and by myself exploring the rocks near our house.”

46 | WALTER

this to engage people and help them reflect on their own identities and their own lives and their own learning? And so art education blew my mind in that way. I could not only make art, but I could facilitate learning through art.”

Fresh out of graduate school, the first time she stepped into her own classroom in a Washington, D.C., public elementary school, Jesse planned to present some “life-altering lessons” to her students. She quickly found that teaching 25 to 32 young kids at a time was as much about getting a class to function as it was creativity. By her second year she had learned how to balance the practical demands of curriculum and classroom management with her creative ideas on how to engage students. “It was one of the most exciting and rewarding things that I’ve ever done,” she says.

After four years in the classroom she decided to go out on her own and pursue a full-time career as an illustrator. Once she focused on her own art, she recalled the power of creating materials that represented who her students knew themselves to be, as well as how she saw herself as a young girl who thrived in the outdoors. The results were illustration after illustration of young girls exploring natural landscapes.

“I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this,” she says, smiling, “but I just don’t draw kids inside very much.”

A quick perusal of her website or Instagram page reveals this to be true. In one illustration a little girl in a rain slicker peers over the bow of a storm-tossed ship, the tentacles of a sea monster snaking below her. In another, a girl sits comfortably atop a rock and pours a cup of tea, a blue snake encircling her neck.

Jesse’s work also reveals a lack of adult characters, something others — including the editors of her forthcoming book, Brave Like Fireweed, which she both wrote and illustrated — have brought to her attention.

“They said, We can’t have these kids just wandering by themselves out in the middle of nowhere without any adult supervision,” she says. “I totally get that. But a huge focus and motivation for my artwork is to show kids as the capable and intelligent and independent beings that they are, and that doesn’t always require having an adult presence in order to be like that.”

People might also wonder where all the boys are. Historically, boys been over-represented in children’s books, but Jesse’s main characters are primarily young girls. “I’ve always found it to be incredibly important to include girls in my work who are outside, playing, exploring and adventuring, just because that’s not something that they’re always allowed or encouraged to do,” she says. “It’s something that I was allowed and encouraged to do, and that became a really important part of who I am.”

Viewing Jesse’s work, it’s not hard to imagine these girls leaping from the page and striking out for places as yet undiscovered. And it’s not hard to imagine young Jesse doing the same. She still is.

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SIMPLE LIFE

Squirrelly Business A seedy family of rodents drives an old dude nuts

by JIM DODSON illustration by GERRY O’NEILL

A

nother summer is ending.

And once again, the squirrels have won.

Last year about this time, I made a promise to myself — not to mention the many wild birds that regularly visit our four hanging feeders — to find a way to outfox the large crime family of gray squirrels that inhabits Old George, the handsome maple tree that anchors our front yard.

The problem began rather innocently six years ago, when I rescued Old George from death by English ivy. The old tree flourished and, one afternoon, I noticed that two gray squirrels had taken up residence in a hollow nook halfway up the tree. They seemed to be a respectable couple, perhaps elderly pensioners looking for a nice place to tuck in for their quiet retirement years. Our property is also home to several towering oaks, so come autumn there would be a plentiful acorn supply.

I hung a couple bird feeders by wires from Old George’s upper branches. Soon the wild birds were all over them. What

a peaceable kingdom it seemed.

The next spring, however, there were four squirrels residing on Old George.

Clearly, they were no elderly pensioners. Within months, I’d find one of the juvenile delinquents regularly helping itself to premium birdseed, scattering it on the ground below the feeder, having somehow slid down the 10-foot wire like a paid assassin from a Bond flick.

He soon returned with two bushytailed pals from across the street. Word was out. Party at the Dodson house, all-you-can eat birdseed buffet! Pay no attention to the old dude waving his arms and shouting obscenities.

By the next year, there were at least seven or eight tree squirrels residing on Old George, a budding Corleone family of furry rodents. They were regularly raiding the feeders, costing me a bundle just to keep them filled up. I bought “squirrel-free” feeders and fancy bird feeder poles equipped with “baffles” guaranteed to keep the raiders on the ground.

These sure-fire remedies, alas, only

seemed to baffle me, because they posed only a minor challenge to the squirrels.

So I proposed a deal to the squirrel that seemed to be the head of the family: Whatever they found on the ground at the feet of Old George was theirs to keep. Thanks to the jays, the sloppiest eaters in the bird kingdom, there was plenty of seed for them to gorge on. For a while, this protection racket seemed to work.

Then one afternoon, as I was filling up “their” feeder, I heard a pop. I turned to find the big fat crime boss squirrel dead on the ground. He’d fallen — or had he been pushed? — off a high limb, where two younger squirrels were looking down with innocent, beady-eyed stares.

Just like in the movies, a younger, more ambitious crime boss was in charge.

I considered giving up and moving to northern Scotland. Instead, I asked my neighbor, Miriam, a crack gardener and bird fancier, how she handled pesky squirrels. If anyone could tell me how to stem the tide of ravenous tree squirrels it was Miriam. She’d lived in the neighTHe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 49

SIMPLE LIFE borhood for 40 years. She is my turn-to garden and bird guru.

Miriam thought for a moment before coming out with a chilling laugh.

“They’re impossible to stop,” she said.

She pointed to her Jack Russell Terriers.

“That’s why I have Jake and Spencer. They do a pretty decent job on the squirrels and chipmunks.” She admitted that she always wondered whether squirrels are the smartest or dumbest of God’s creatures: “How can squirrels be so smart they can get into any kind of bird feeder — but always stop in the middle of the street whenever a car is coming?”

It was a good question I had no time to ponder.

Our other neighbors down the block, Miriam explained, had taken to hu-

manely trapping their squirrels and releasing them in the countryside. “But I read somewhere that if you don’t take them more than 10 miles out of town, they’ll come straight back.”

That was all I needed — country cousins joining the feast.

I actually gave thought to arming myself with a Daisy BB gun. It’s right there in the Second Amendment, after all — the right to bear arms against unreasonable threats from hostile elements, both domestic and foreign. True, the Constitution doesn’t mention thieving gray tree squirrels per se, but one doesn’t have to be an originalist to interpret the broad meaning of those historic words.

But call me a tree-hugging man of peace — Rocky and Bullwinkle were

They were regularly raiding the feeders, costing me a bundle just to keep them filled up.

my favorite childhood cartoon characters — I decided to forgo the gun and simply rely on Miss Miriam’s way to put the fear into the furry crime family that inhabits Old George.

Nowadays, I wait patiently until I see them climbing up the poles, dangling upside down to feed or diving insanely from tree limbs onto our feeders. Then I strategically release Gracie and Winnie, our 75-pound Staffordshire pit bull and fleet-footed border collie-spaniel puppy, and watch the merry chase begin.

There’s been more than one narrow escape, and I’ve received several parts of furry tails as trophies.

It’s not a permanent solution to the problem. But for now, Gracie and Winnie enjoy the exercise — and I am sending an unmistakable message to the squirrelly Corleones.

Meanwhile, they’d best stay out of the middle of the road when this old dude is at the wheel.

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Getting to the Bones

by LIZA WOLFF-FRANCIS illustration by JILLIAN OHL Monday morning, I might not have noticed the dead deer in the ditch beside the road to my son’s school if it hadn’t been for the vultures that began to gather.

I don’t know how long the deer lay there before they came.

There’s always a quiet time, even if brief, when a corpse is alone with itself before the afterbirth of death begins.

By afternoon, the deer still looked like a deer. Tuesday, butcher shops with hanging meat slabs came to mind. Five vultures pulling entrails from another beast. As the week progressed, bones began to emerge more clearly, revealing a new form. I didn’t want to stop looking. Birds butchering the barrel of a body. Blood in beaks, the deer transforming to skeleton, succumbing to shadows of passing days. Friday, vultures gone, all that was left, a wilted ribcage and skeleton slumped, almost human. A ribcage is a ribcage, an accordion of bone. Our bodies so similar when only the frame is left.

Liza Wolff-Francis is the eighth Poet Laureate of Carrboro, N.C. She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Goddard College and writes about many subjects, including the changing climate. She believes poetry connects us. Her website is lizawolff.com.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 53

Getting to know the athletes of the NC Senior Games

good

SPORTS words & photography by ERIC THOMPSON producer DEAR LIZA PRODUCTIONS lighting assistant RICK ANTHONY

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left page: SALLY HORD, 80-85 GROUP, HIGH POINT First place in the Cheerleaders Large Group category, with the High Point Rah-Rahs “We nearly won our first competition four years ago, but one of our gals had to have emergency surgery, so we were lacking the 10th person to qualify for the Large Group category and we were disqualified. After that, we made sure we had enough members to compete in future contests. We now have 14 in the group, which is our limit for space on the stage. It’s difficult to find members who are willing to give of their time and energy for regular rehearsals and commitments, but we have won first place at the state contests several times.” this page: BOB MEDLEY, 85-89 GROUP, KINSTON First place in 100m and 200m dash; second place in 50m dash, 400m dash and standing long jump; third place in running long jump

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 55

A

t a family get-together last summer, my uncle-in-law Jerry Hodge mentioned in passing that he’d be participating in the badminton tournament of the upcoming North Carolina Senior Games. In fact, I learned, my uncle Chris McNeely would be there too, shooting baskets.

I knew they were athletic — enthusiastic participants in pickleball or spikeball on the beach — but I’d never heard about the Senior Games. Within 20 minutes Jerry and I were driving to take a tour of Triangle Badminton and Table Tennis in Morrisville, one of the facilities that would host the upcoming games. I was intrigued, and knew I had to be there to see it all for myself.

The North Carolina Senior Games were founded by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human services division of aging and adult services in 1983, the first program of its kind in the country. Within a few years, the games were spun off into a nonprofit, and former Division of Aging staffer Margot Traynor, who’d been instrumental in founding the games, became its executive director. “She pulled together leadership from across North Carolina that was interested in athletics and programming for seniors, and together they established the founding principles, which were health promotion and wellness, and prioritizing local games,” says Lynn Harrell, associate director of NC Senior Games.

The first senior games, held in Charlotte, Wilmington and Haywood County, served as the models for other communities. By 1985, there were 22 local competitions, and the top athletes met in Raleigh to participate at the first state finals. Today, the NC Senior Games are the largest in the country, with 53 local games that serve all 100 counties across the state, bolstered by more than 900 volunteers that work as event staff. “We’re all about the F-words: Fun, fitness, fellowship, family and friends,” laughs Harrell.

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left page: CHRIS COMULADA, 65-69 GROUP, EASTOVER Third place tennis singles and doubles, third place badminton singles “As we interact with one another, we learn what keeps us youthful — mental and physical activity, nutrition, interactions, new perspectives and various points of view.

You don’t have to be a lifetime jock to participate. We have opportunities to meet other seniors, engage in some friendly competition and see newfound friends over the years.” top right: REGGIE RUSSEL, 70-74 GROUP, MECKLENBURG COUNTY Second place 200m and 400m dash, third place 100m dash and 800m run bottom right: ZAITON ABU BAKAR, 55-59 GROUP, JACKSONVILLE First place 5k run, fourth place 800m run “I ran track in junior high and high school in Malaysia. When I came to the USA, I was focused on getting my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and ran road races to stay in shape. I used to play a variety of sports including softball, volleyball, basketball, tennis, ping-pong, badminton, golf, bowling and field hockey. I no longer play these sports because I’m focusing on running track and road races. As you can see, I was gifted in athletics and love it!”

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 57

The games feature athletes from 50 years old up into their 90s. Over the course of several months, participants compete at the local level, then the top three of each local event advance to the state finals. The bulk of the finals take place during a weeklong competition in the Triangle at the end of September. The more than 70 competitions that make up the games include track, swimming, discus and long jump — all the sports that one would expect from a large-scale athletic event like the Olympics. There are also competitions in games that most folks play just for fun, like shuffleboard, horseshoes and cornhole. No matter the sport, the athletes bring intensity and focus to the competition. Dedicated officials are armed with score sheets and screens, meticulously marking down and tracking the results.

In the early 1990s, the NC Senior Games were expanded to include the SilverArts program, a showcase of excellence across categories like visual, literary and performing arts with events such as basket weaving, sculpture, dance and singing. North Carolina is the only state to host SilverArts competitions. “We are the envy of most states,” says Harrell.

“We are still considered the national model for how to do senior games.”

In 2019, more than 3,000 athletes competed in the NC Senior Games. But in 2020 and 2021, the competition went virtual — which required rethinking how they’d been run in the past. “We created a rules book, a format, videos showing participants how to do it,” says Harrell. “We presented awards online and mailed them. It was incredible.”

But in 2022, the year I learned about the NC Senior Games, they were back in person. So, in the late summer heat, my wife Liza and I set out to witness what the games had to offer. I brought along my cameras to capture the personalities of the people that make the games possible, and we set up temporary photo studios in various locations.

Over the course of the week, we got to know more than 200 individuals who opted to sit for a portrait and share a little about themselves. We met folks 58 | WALTER

top left: WILLIE SPRUILL, 60-64 GROUP, ST. PAULS Second place 100m dash, fourth place 50m dash “In early 2017, I was still suffering from chronic migraines, PTSD, dementia and other illnesses from the Gulf War. My sciatica was bad from injuries to the shoulder, neck and back during two accidents while testing parachutes.

I had to walk with a cane. Running was out of the question. But I was inspired by a flier for the Lumbee River Senior Games in April 2017. Each day I would walk around the track at Pembroke University, a little more each time. By the end of the second week I was able to jog, and I remember screaming out loud, I can run! I can run! I never looked back.” bottom left: HARRY SCHIFFMAN, 80-84 GROUP, OUTER BANKS First place 50-yard and 100-yard backstroke, second place 200-yard freestyle this page: ANGELA STAAB, 75-79 GROUP, ROCKINGHAM COUNTY First place 800m and 1500m run, second place 200m dash, third place discus, 5k run and shot put

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 59

this page: CAROL BLACK, 60-64 GROUP, LINCOLN COUNTY Third place in the Cheerleaders Small Group category with the Wildcats Cheer Team opposite page, clockwise from top right: MRUGESH RAVAL, 75-79 GROUP, GASTON COUNTY Second place badminton mixed doubles and men’s doubles, third place badminton men’s singles ROB DRY, 50-54 GROUP, ROWAN COUNTY First place 50-yard breaststroke, second place 100-yard freestyle, fourth place 50-yard freestyle ANDREW SMITH, 70-74 GROUP, WHITTIER First place 1500m race walk, first place 5K race walk “One time, I was competing in the 20K race walk with two other racers. With two laps to go, I saw our number-one walker sitting on the side of the course. He was not used to doing this distance and was feeling it. I encouraged him to get up, then stayed with him to make sure he was OK and could finish. We ended up winning the team medal. He and I have raced against each other in many National Championships, but this was about teamwork.”

60 | WALTER

from every town from Wilmington to Whittier, and from all walks of life: veterans, tribal chiefs, teachers, volunteers and comedians. We met grandparents and great-grandparents. Folks who participated in multiple events sometimes popped in for second and third portrait sittings, happily displaying their new medals around their necks.

By the end of the week, Liza and I had made many fast friends, including Julia Manigo, a 94-year-old with an arm for horseshoes; Nancy-Faye Craig, a 25-year volunteer and competitor from Wilmington festooned in pins from decades of Senior Games past; and the warm and welcoming “Jacksonville Girls” bowling team (made up of Carolyn Harrison, Pam Henderson, Diane Morse, Betty Wigfall, and Helen Russell).

Seeing so many seniors tackle their fitness goals redefined my conceptions of capability. The strength of every individual involved was inspiring — and, for me, it reframed the notion of what it looks like to age. I hope the portraits and stories on these pages do the same for you.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 61

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opposite page, clockwise from top: JULIA MANIGO, 90-94 GROUP, FAYETTEVILLE First place cornhole, 50m dash and 100m dash, second place horseshoes DIXON COOK, 75-79 GROUP, GREENSBORO First place 800m run, second place 1500m run “I remember the 2015 games in Minnesota, after the competition there was a ‘Parade of Champions’ in a baseball stadium, where everyone lined up with their state flags and paraded into the stadium behind it.

They played ‘We Are the Champions’ as we walked across the field. I was so proud to march in with my fellow North Carolina competitors!”

HENRY WALKINGSTICK, 75-79 GROUP, QUALLA BOUNDARY First place mini golf and 1500m powerwalk, second place football throw, third place softball throw, 50m dash and basketball shooting, fourth place 100m dash this page: JONATHAN FEATHER, 55-59 GROUP, CHEROKEE First place bocce, second place cornhole, second place shuffleboard “I’m a five-time Golden Glove champion, first Indian Olympic Champion in Canada, and I travel the powwow circuit doing Indian shows and spreading the word.”

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 63

A Thomas Sayre sculpture in the front of Debbie and Larry Robbins’ home. Near the entrance, a large Mark Hewitt vase is on display. Opposite page: A sculpture by Asheville artist Alex Bernstein.

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Debbie and Larry Robbins’ living gallery

HOME

artful

by AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE

photography by TREY THOMAS

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 65

I

n the front yard of Debbie and Larry Robbins’ home, a towering sculpture stands sentinel. It’s a sign of what’s to come: a space that’s equal parts home and gallery, where art lives comfortably in a house bustling with friends, family and pets.

The couple bought this lot in Country Club Hills in 2018 and worked with architects Michael Ross Kersting and Toby Keeton at Wilmington-based Kersting Architecture to design the home. “We were excited when we sat down with Larry and Debbie, we felt like they were

66 | WALTER

kindred spirits,” says Keeton. “They came to us and said, this is a house for us, but it’s also a gallery and a place to host events, a place for looking at and displaying art.”

Debbie had studied interior design in college, at a time when Mid-century modern was just “modern,” she says.

Their previous home was very traditional (“crown molding, wallpaper, mahogany furniture,” she says) so they wanted something totally different for the new space: a clean aesthetic, seamless interactions with outdoor areas and lots of light.

“We knew we wanted a home in the shape of a U, with a primary wing, guest

wing and central living area around a courtyard,” says Larry. “We really wanted a private enclave in the back that was protected on three sides.”

To do this, the architects played with high ceilings and walls of windows.

Keeton credits Kersting with pushing the ideas of expansion and contraction between the private and more public areas of the Robbins’ new home. “You have these lower areas on the sides, but then you walk into the living room and the ceiling pops up, then the doors open and the interior becomes part of the courtyard,” says Keeton. The result, says

In the living room, a walnut panel displays Matt McConnell sculptures (and hides the TV). Nearby are paintings by Jason Craighead and Damien Stamer, as well as pottery by Joseph Sand, Eric Knoche and Caroline Boykin.

Opposite page: In the main entrance to the home, the Robbins display a large painting by Cuban artist Rigoberto Mena and smaller paintings by Peruvian artist Yvonne Mora, plus pottery by Mark Hewitt.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 67

Larry, is “open and breezy and filled with light — you could open your wings and fly.”

Throughout, structural necessities are designed to be visually pleasing: for example, a wall between the living and dining area serves to partition the room, but also holds storage for dining accessories and an HVAC return. “Debbie wanted it to be open, but not too open; she wanted these facades and breaks between the rooms to give each a distinct presence,” says Larry. White walls, white oak floors and walnut paneling articulate the spaces.

“We used the millwork for doors and the drawers, but we wanted it to be a continuous element, so there’s also a panel on the side that goes all the way up to the ceiling,” says Keeton. The living area opens completely to the patio and courtyard, comfortable for intimate gatherings or to

68 | WALTER

entertain large groups. “It really can hold everybody,” says Debbie. “It just works.”

This clean aesthetic also served the Robbins’ main goal: for the home to be a showcase for their large collection of art.

“Our original premise was that the house is a gallery itself; you’re creating the shape and the views through windows and walls,” says Keeton.

The Robbins started buying art when they first moved to Raleigh decades ago.

Much of it came through the Visual Art Exchange (VAE), where Debbie has been a volunteer and board member for more than 30 years. “I’m no longer on the board, but they won’t let me leave!” she laughs. While the earliest pieces they bought came from travels or European artists, soon their focus shifted to local artists. “It was fun to go to the annual VAE auctions and meet the artists who had

contributed work,” says Larry. “We both think it’s important to build those connections and support local artists.”

Because of their involvement with the local arts community, many of those artists have become good friends — including Thomas Sayre, who created the sculpture out front. “When we told Thomas we wanted a piece for the front yard, he said, give me some time, let me think about it,” says Larry. “About six weeks later, he invited us down to the studio and showed us a mockup, and we both thought it was great. It was just as he described it, a sort of guard or protector of the front door.”

(Of course, they thought they’d be in the house sooner — pandemic-related supply-chain delays dragged construction out to three years. “It was in his front yard for years. Thomas teased us for a long time about charging us rent,” laughs Larry.)

One area of the home includes the kitchen, scullery, breakfast area, powder room and “dog pantry” with built-in cubbies for kennels and food storage (“I joke that Buddy was my real client,” says Keeton).

It’s just off the formal dining area (opposite page), where a painting

by Clarence Heyward is on display.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 69

The home is arranged around a courtyard with a pool and lounge area. Debbie swims in the pool almost every day, even in the winter.

One wing houses two guest rooms, bathrooms and an “activity room” that Debbie uses for painting and working out. Opposite page: The guest room showcases a painting

by Luke Buchanan.

70 | WALTER

In every room, pieces by North Carolina artists hold pride of place. There’s a Ben Owen vase on the kitchen counter and a Bob Rankin painting in the laundry room; a collection of Mark Hewitt pots in the foyer; and paintings by the late Diane Rodwell in the bedrooms, among many others. Even a narrow sliver of courtyard outside the dining room displays one of Donald Martiny’s dimensional works.

“The Robbins are real patrons of the arts, which is an old-fashioned concept, but they truly respect artists and what they do,” says Keeton. (Debbie is a painter herself, a talent she was able to hone after becoming an empty-nester, and a few of

her colorful abstracts are on display, too.)

Just as the couple is generous with the support of artists, they’re generous with opening their home to support organizations and causes. In the spring, the Robbins hosted chefs Ashley Christensen and Alon Shaya for a dinner to benefit the Frankie Lemmon School, and last fall, they invited architecture aficionados in for the NCModernist’s annual party. “It was so cool to see the home just bursting with life — people moving in and out of the galleries, all the windows open and a band set up on the porch,” says Keeton. But the party was also bittersweet: Kersting, his business partner and mentor, had passed

away earlier that year. “Michael always said his next work is his best work, but this home is an expression of some of his highest-level thinking. It was emotional to be there and think, this is what the home is supposed to do, and not be able to share that with him,” says Keeton.

And while the home can accommodate a crowd, day to day it’s more likely to be filled with family, the doors flung open between the living area and the porch while grandchildren and dogs play in the pool. “We used to have a formal living room, and we never used it. Now this room is filled all the time,” says Larry.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 71

72 | WALTER

A hallway displays a canvas by Jason Craighead, a bench by furniture designer John Dodd and a glass sculpture by Alex Bernstein. Opposite page: This wing of the home includes the primary bedroom and bathroom. Above their bed, the Robbins hung another painting by Jason Craighead. It also includes Larry’s office.

“It’s got all of my stereo equipment and vinyl albums, so I can close the door and turn the music up,” Larry says. Here, the couple displays some of the earliest art they collected, mostly classic impressionist paintings

by European artists.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 73

An ongoing effort from the AAHC highlights Civil Rights efforts across the state

MARKING HISTORY

by JAMAUL MOORE

photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN

A

s the Civil Rights movement galvanized the United States in the 1950s and 60s, citizens of North Carolina were doing their part to fight for equality. And the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission wants to make sure we know about them.

The AAHC is in the process of installing 50 markers across the state as part of its NC Civil Rights Trail program. Each of the metal signposts will offer a brief story about the significance of the location. The markers will be at sites of protests, churches where activists organized, courthouses, birthplaces of key people and more, with an emphasis on honoring local events and personalities that may not have gotten nationwide attention. “Local stories are often lesser known,” said Adrienne Nirdé, director of the AAHC. “It is important to know what happened, to know our cities weren’t exempted.”

To do this, the AAHC has been working with nonprofits, churches and other organizations over the past three years to nominate sites, gather historical documents and secure permissions. “It’s really about garnering community support,” says Nirdé. “The Civil Rights movement came about through the work of everyday people. Yes, there were plenty of politicians and lawyers involved, but also parents, community members and students, who helped move history forward. It’s wonderful to mark and share these stories, especially while many of them are still with us.” The AAHC is preparing to select locations for the remaining markers, with the next round of applications due Sept. 29.

To date, two markers have been installed in Raleigh, with another coming soon (see next page for locations). The Friends of Oberlin Village, a local advocacy group, helped push for one of the markers at the site of sit-ins in 1960. “It serves as a way to commemorate the bravery the students showed that day, as well as the significant impact those students had on the state of North Carolina,” says Heather Doyle, a Friends of Oberlin Village spokesperson. In addition to these two marked spots, the AAHC has identified a few other locations important to the movement as part of its Civil Rights Virtual Trail (find the map at aahc.nc.gov).

So the next time you’re walking around Raleigh, look for the landmarks in the following pages, and take some time to think about what happened there.

“When we acknowledge these places, we’re saying, yes, your history matters,” says Nirdé.

74 | WALTER

The site of the first NC Civil Rights Trail Marker installed in Raleigh.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 75

ANNIE WEALTHY HOLLAND Oak tree and memorial bench at Shaw University, 118 E. South Street Annie Wealthy Holland (1871-1934) was an educator who served as a state supervisor of Black elementary schools with the Jeanes Fund from 1915 to 1921, which helped support educational programs for African Americans in rural communities from 1908 until 1968, when public schools were integrated. She traveled to each of the North Carolina counties to conduct meetings, organize fund drives and teach demonstration classes to schools to help promote the education of African American children.

Holland is best known for founding the North Carolina Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers in 1928, which held its first meeting at Shaw University on April 14 of the same year. The organization was established to raise standards 76 | WALTER

to ensure every child had equal educational opportunities throughout the state. Holland died in 1934, and in her honor, an oak tree was planted at Shaw University on the anniversary of the association’s founding, in 1938.

While Holland was not alive during the years of the Civil Rights movement, her efforts planted the seed for educational advancements that would provide better opportunities for African Americans. A stone memorial bench now sits under her tree.

BILL GRAVES JR.’S HOME Future NC Civil Rights Trail Marker at the Graves-Fields House, 814 Oberlin Road Willis (Bill) Graves Jr. (1890-1966) was born in Oberlin Village, which at the time was a freedman’s village. His parents built their home and were pillars of the community. Graves attended Saint Augustine’s and Shaw University,

then got his law degree from Howard University School of Law in 1919.

Graves settled in Detroit and by the 1940s was a leading legal advocate in the fight against racially restrictive housing.

He served as counsel for the Detroit NAACP, working with some of the country’s renowned attorneys on strategies for civil rights litigation. Two of the most famous cases he worked on were Sipes vs. McGhee in 1947 and Shelley vs.

Kraemer in 1948. These were seminal cases in unlocking racially restrictive covenants in neighborhoods. Graves and his law partner, Francis Dent, took Sipes vs. McGhee to the Michigan Supreme Court, which upheld the covenant. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, this case was joined by Shelley vs. Kraemer, a Missouri case. Thurgood Marshall was the lead attorney, with Graves and Dent as attorneys of record (Marshall went on to become the

General Negative Negative Collection, Collection, State State Archives Archives of of North North Carolina Carolina (KING) General (KING)

Left: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., speaking at Broughton High School in 1958. Inset: Annie Wealthy Holland Memorial tree and bench.

The News & Observer Negative Collection, North Carolina State Archives (WOOLWORTH’S); Catherine Nguyen (OBERLIN)

Right: Inside the Woolworth’s on Fayetteville Street during a sit-in on February 10, 1960.

Inset: The Graves-Fields house.

Supreme Court’s first Black justice).

They won the case, arguing that racially restrictive covenants were a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which offers equal protection under the law.

This case was the first in several decisions that struck down government actions that enforced racial segregation, including Brown vs. Board of Education six years later. Graves continued to practice law and support the NAACP for more than four decades. He was also the first Black man named to a committee of the Michigan State Bar. In 2019, Graves’ childhood home, one of the last remaining structures from the neighborhood’s time as a freedman’s village, was moved to its new address to avoid demolition for new development.

Along with the Rev. Plummer T. Hall House, it now serves as the headquarters for Preservation North Carolina.

JOSEPH H. HOLT SR. AND ELWYNA H. HOLT’S RESIDENCE NC Civil Trail Marker at 1027 Oberlin Road In 1956, Joseph and Elwyna Holt applied for their son, Joseph H. Holt Jr. (b. 1943), to attend Daniels Junior High School (now Oberlin Middle School).

This all-white school was down the street from their home, but Black students in their neighborhood were being sent to John W. Ligon Junior-Senior High School all the way across town. To get there, they had to take city buses — paying the fare — and walk. The Holts were approached by Jesse O. Sanderson, the superintendent of Raleigh schools, to settle for a compromise or trade-off in exchange for withdrawing their application. Instead, they took it to court.

This lawsuit, Holt vs. City of Raleigh School Board, was the first of its kind in both Raleigh and Wake County, as it

sought to challenge public school segregation in court. Even though this was two years after the landmark Brown vs.

Board of Education had declared segregation of schools unconstitutional, the case was decided in favor of the school board on a legal technicality, based on two pieces of North Carolina legislation, the Pupil Assignment Act and the Pearsall Plan.

Joseph Jr. attended Ligon High School and then Fayetteville State University, aging out of the original school before the case was decided. But his parents’ efforts inspired citizens in Oberlin Village to continue challenging the legal system for equal educational opportunities and integrated schools.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 77

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. VISITS RALEIGH Broughton High School, 723 St. Marys Street On Feb 10, 1958, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Raleigh, having been invited by the United Church, which was then located on Hillsborough Street. But the building could not accommodate as large of a crowd as they anticipated, so they arranged for him to speak in the nearby high school’s auditorium.

At the time, Broughton was an allwhite school, but the audience of 1,300 included both Black and white guests.

There, King delivered his famous speech on “Nonviolence and Racial Justice,” which addressed his philosophy for instigating change through peaceful protest, love and faith.

Despite King’s presence and message of integration, the school was not deseg78 | WALTER

regated until 1971, almost two decades after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

F.W. WOOLWORTH’S SIT-IN Office building at 224 Fayetteville Street On Feb. 10, 1960, students from Shaw University and Saint Augustine’s University protested at the F.W. Woolworth’s in downtown Raleigh. This peaceful protest marked the first sit-in at a whites-only lunch counter in the city. The students were inspired by sitins in Greensboro, which began on Feb. 1, and others around the country.

Police believed that by arresting the student leader, David Forbes, the demonstrations would cease, but the students went ahead with their mission. After this demonstration, various student-led organizations across the city took up similar actions that would promote the Civil Rights movement. This

was one of a handful of demonstrations in Raleigh, in which 41 students were arrested and later convicted of criminal trespassing.

Raleigh-area students protested at seven other establishments that day, including McLellan’s, Hudson-Belk, Kress, Eckerd’s Drug Store, Walgreens Drug Store, Cromley’s and the Sir Walter Drug Store.

CAMERON VILLAGE SIT-INS NC Civil Trail Marker at 2108 Clark Ave On the same day as the sit-ins on Fayetteville Street, Black students from Shaw University and Saint Augustine’s University entered the F.W. Woolworth’s at Cameron Village (now known as The Village District). At the time, Black customers were allowed to shop in the stores but were not allowed to sit at the segregated lunch counters. In anticipation of these protests, several establishments in

The News News & & Observer Observer Negative Negative Collection, Collection, North North Carolina Carolina State The State Archives Archives (COURTROOM) (COURTROOM)

Left: A crowded courtroom awaits the scheduled trial of students arrested in the Woolworth’s sit-ins. Inset: The NC Civil Rights Trail Marker near The Village District.

The News & Observer Negative Collection, North Carolina State Archives (PROTEST)

Right: The Hyde County Civil Rights and School Peace Protest in March 1969. Inset: The Terry Sanford Federal Building.

Cameron Village had already closed their lunch counters or stores entirely. During the sit-ins, several students were arrested, and others were verbally assaulted and spat on by opposing patrons.

These peaceful protests led to the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a youth political organization founded to capitalize on the success of civil rights demonstrations in the Raleigh area. The SNCC became a major influence in the Civil Rights movement, partaking in the Freedom Rides in 1961 and a voter registration campaign among African Americans throughout the South in 1962.

FELDER VS. HARNETT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AND GODWIN VS. JOHNSTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION Terry Sanford Federal Building & US Courthouse, 310 New Bern Avenue

In 1963, 19 Black students filed a suit against the Harnett County school system on grounds of racial separation, led by student Mamie E. Felder. Known as Felder vs. Harnett County Board of Education, the suit sought an order that would transition the existing segregated school system to a nonracial system. After two appeals, the court mandated that they desegregate.

The first plan the Harnett County School Board proposed included the closure of three all-Black schools and reassigning their students to predominantly white schools. But the plan did not include eliminating segregation in elementary schools, so it was denied.

The school district’s second plan included elementary schools and was implemented for the 1968-69 school year.

A few years after Harnett County students brought their case to course, 19 plaintiffs in Johnston County did the

same. In 1968, James Godwin and other Black parents filed a suit against Johnston County public schools and the North Carolina State Board of Education on the grounds of racial discrimination.

A year later, in 1969, the court ruled that the Pearsall Plan — the state’s attempt to delay integration in public schools, first used in the Holt v. City of Raleigh School Board case in 1956 — was unconstitutional, as it violated Brown v.

Board of Education. The court also ruled that the state of North Carolina was responsible for coming up with a statewide plan to desegregate schools, rather than it being the responsibility of individual counties. With this ruling, the court forced the Johnston County Board of Education and city school boards to devise a practical plan to desegregate schools, which became fully integrated in 1971.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 79

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THE WHIRL

Phillip Loken

Victoria ScottMiller and family at the opening of Liberation Station.

WALTER’s roundup of gatherings, celebrations, fundraisers and more around Raleigh.

83 Liberation Station Opening 85 Arthouse 87 The Fantastic Island 87 Donate Sport Milestone 88 Friends of Note 90 GalaxyCon 93 The Lost Colony

To have your event considered for The Whirl, submit images and information at waltermagazine.com/submit-photos

The Art & Soul of Raleigh | 81

2023

THE WHIRL

courtesy Btk

LIBERATION STATION OPENING On June 19, Liberation Station bookstore held its grand opening with a series of events, including a ribbon cutting, author signings and a march down Fayetteville Street with Cailtlin Gooch. Liberation Station is the first Black-owned children’s bookstore in North Carolina.

Duane Miller greets customers

Victoria Scott-Miller and family

Aug 31 The Judgment of Raleigh: Napa vs Bordeaux Blind Tasting Sept 7 Argentinian Treasures from Fabre Montmayou Sept 13 Wine Dinner with Triangle Social Club and Kimberly Jones Sept 22 A Wine Tour through France Sept 28 An Exploration of Oregon Wine Oct 9 Mollydooker Tasting with the real Blue Eyed Boy, Luke Marquis Oct 10 Mollydooker Tasting with the real Gigglepot, Holly Marquis Oct 19 Wagner Family Wines Tasting ft Caymus and other favorites

Visit westgatewinestore.com for the full calendar.

6405 WESTGATE ROAD #115 RALEIGH, NC 27617 919.787.4290 THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 83

ARTHOUSE On May 6, CAM Raleigh hosted Arthouse, its annual fundraising dinner party. Guests enjoyed a meal prepared by chef Cheetie Kumar while they took in new exhibits at the museum.

Carly Jones, Michelle Hooper, Paul Baker, Kayla Coleman

Jasper Fleming

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THE FANTASTIC ISLAND On July 16, Gallery C hosted an opening reception for its new exhibit, The Fantastic Island: Art from Haiti. The exhibit features paintings, Vodou flags and sculpture.

Courtesy Gallery C

Tracey Kunz, Maria Henson

Philip Lynn, David Haskins

DONATE SPORT MILESTONE In early July, local charity Donate Sport hit a milestone $2 million in donations of sports equipment collected and distributed in the USA and around the world.

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THE WHIRL FRIENDS OF NOTE North Carolina’s corporate and community leaders gathered to celebrate the North Carolina Symphony’s music education programs for students during the annual Friends of Note event at The Pavilion at the Angus Barn.

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Book online royalparkinginc.com or call 919-796-5781 90 | WALTER

GALAXYCON 2023 The weekend of July 27 to 30, the Raleigh Convention Center hosted GalaxyCon, a four-day “festival of fandom” that gathers artists, writers, cosplayers and entertainment celebrities from the worlds of comic books, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, gaming and more. WALTER sent photographer Bryan Regan to photograph some of the characters in attendance.

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Sept 30-Oct 1 Oct 6-8, 13-15 Homes open and available to tour throughout the Triangle.

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THE LOST COLONY On August 1 and 2, North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper made a guest appearance in the The Lost Colony. First performed in 1937, The Lost Colony is an annual product in the Outer Banks that explores the historic story of the first English colonies in North America on Roanoke Island.

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Kristin Cooper with the cast

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Celebrating Roots A new public space pays homage to the Black experience

by ADDIE LADNER photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN

A

cluster of established oak trees live on the corner of Wilmington and Lane Streets, on an acre of sloped land. The trees’ roots run deep, breaking through the North Carolina clay, just out of sight.

These trees are a symbol for the new public space they shade, the North Carolina Freedom Park. “Just like the root system of these live oaks, the Black experience was, and still is, unseen,” says Dr. Victoria Gallagher, one of the park’s champions. “This park will now open that up. Stories will be seen, heard and recognized.”

More than 20 years in the making, the park was designed by the late Phil Freelon and stewarded

by Zena Howard and the team at Perkins + Will. The roots of the oak anchored his layout; Freelon hoped they would encourage contemplation and reverence. The park was built by Holt Brothers Construction. “We are honored and humbled to carry the baton across the finish line and to see so many people’s hard work come to

96 | WALTER

“Often we’ve disregarded Black North Carolinians who have spoken to us about freedom. Now we can see their words and be inspired.”

— Dr. Victoria Gallagher fruition,” says Terrence Holt.

At the park’s epicenter stands a two-panel gold sculpture, Beacon of Freedom, which symbolizes Black resilience. Each pillar weighs about 1,000 pounds, and when it’s illuminated at night, it resembles a torch.

Five walkways lead to the sculpture,

lined by cement walls the color of red clay. Inscribed in the walls are quotes about freedom from prominent Black authors, abolitionists, scholars and civil rights leaders, including James E. Shepard, Ella Baker and Maya Angelou. The passages date from the 1700s to the present day. “Often we’ve disregarded Black North Carolinians who have spoken to us about freedom.

Now we can see their words and be inspired,” says Gallagher.

Among them are words from North Carolina attorney and priest Pauli Murray: “It has taken me almost a lifetime to discover that true emancipation lies in the acceptance of the whole past, in deriving my strength from all my roots, in facing up to the degradation as well as the dignity of my ancestors.”

In the coming months and years, new roots will form below the surface as the natural areas of the park fill in with smaller trees and perennials — and as visitors use the park to acknowledge and share the stories of Black North Carolinians.

g n i t a r b e l Ce f o s r a e 75 Y s t n e m o M l a i c e p S

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