Gate City Journal

Rebirth of a Legend

As historic Gillespie Golf Course celebrates its seventy-fifth birthday,
an important piece of Greensboro’s past reclaims its glory —
and the First Tee of the Triad finds the perfect home

By Jim dodson

After work on a recent warm Wednesday afternoon, I dropped in on the Gillespie Golf Course to play a golf course I’d been meaning to play for at least four decades.

Even if I weren’t a son of Greensboro and a former golf editor, the visit filled a major gap in my professional vita and was long overdue because, simply put, I can trace my origins in the game to this sweet little gem of a public course in the midst of celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary and leading a splendid revival that’s transforming young lives across the Gate City through the vision of the First Tee of the Triad, the Joseph Bryan Foundation and the Wyndham Championship.

Sometime around 1942 my father — then a young ad salesman and occasional aviation columnist for the Greensboro Daily News — played his first round of golf on the recently competed Gillespie Park public golf course. His interest in the game clearly began at Gillespie but took deep root while stationed in Britain near Lytham & St Anne’s Golf Club during the Second World War.

His love of public golf courses clearly influenced his decision decades later to join popular, semi-private Green Valley Golf Club instead of the city’s three outstanding private courses — Sedgefield, Greensboro Country Club and Starmount. Clear in my head is the memory of passing Gillespie sometime in the early 1980s and hearing him remark with unmistakable nostalgia: “What a wonderful golf course that used to be, once upon a time. Gillespie’s where I started, you know.”

Designed by one of the game’s legendary course architects, Perry Maxwell, who had a hand in shaping Augusta National and designed or remodeled more than a hundred American golf courses including Winston-Salem’s Old Town and Reynolds Park, Gillespie was funded and built by the federal Work Projects Administration on a rolling piece of land once owned by the family of Revolutionary War Col. Daniel Gillespie, one of the city’s founders, who fought for independence at the battles of Alamance and Guilford Courthouse. No records indicate if Col. Gillespie had any familiarity with golf, but his ancestors surely did, since they hailed from the Scottish highlands.’

Witness to the course’s creation was a kid growing up at 1907 Asheboro Street (now Martin Luther King Boulevard) directly across the street from the work site. His name was Jim Melvin, and he would become one of the city’s most dynamic mayors.

“I remember watching the crews working with drag pans and horse teams,” he remembers. “That really aroused my first interest in golf. And by the time I was in junior high school I’d wandered over there and gotten myself a job caddying for two dollars a round. It was a beautiful 18-hole golf course, such a fine layout that the city amateur championship was always conducted there. The pro was Ernie Edwards, who later went on to Starmount Country Club and played a key role many years later in saving Gillespie after it fell on hard times.”

At its height of popularity in the early 1950s, according to Melvin and others who hold it dear, Gillespie Park — as some called it in those days — was one of the busiest golf courses in the Triad. “It was very popular, always busy, a real gem of a place that matched up well to our three private country clubs in town,” Melvin adds. “There was really only one glaring problem. It was a segregated golf course for whites only.”

On December 7, 1955, the same week the Montgomery bus boycott was launched in the wake of Rosa Parks’ defiance of segregation laws in Alabama, a Greensboro civil rights activist and local dentist named Dr. George Simkins decided to change that situation.

Simkins and five African-American friends showed up at the course aiming to desegregate the facility. Peacefully demanding their right to play, they put down their 75-cent greens fees and teed off despite the objections of the manager, who advised them that Gillespie was a “private course for members only.”

The six were later arrested for simple trespassing. Two months later, Simkins and the others were convicted of trespassing and fined $15 plus court costs. In a second trial, which was ordered because the original arrest warrants had been altered to describe Gillespie as a “club leased by the city” rather than a “public course,” prompting a middle district judge from North Wilkesboro to issue a declaratory judgment in favor of the “Greensboro Six,” calling the city’s “so-called lease” as a private facility invalid.

In October 1956, while the initial trespass case was still working its way through state courts on appeal, Dr. Simkins filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against the City of Greensboro for racial discrimination in maintaining a public golf course for white citizens only. Simkins et al. v. Greensboro was filed by Dr. Simkins as head of the local chapter of the NAACP. He was joined by nine others, including the original five golfers who had been with him in December 1955. On March 20, 1957, the courts ruled in favor of Simkins, stating in the opinion that the City of Greensboro could not escape its legal duties to provide equal privileges to all citizens to enjoy city functions. The case was immediately appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the District Court’s ruling and ordered the city to discontinue operating the course on a segregated basis.

Eventually, Simkins’ suit even found its way to the U.S. Supreme Court where, missing key relevant facts from its brief, the high court ruled against the plaintiffs by a 5-4 margin. A strong dissent by Chief Justice Earl Warren, however, prompted North Carolina Governor Luther Hodges to commute the sentences of the Greensboro Six.

By then, Gillespie was almost history. Two weeks before the Middle District judge issued his favorable ruling, Gillespie’s historic clubhouse — the original farmhouse belonging to the Gillespie family — mysteriously burned. A short time later, the City Council voted to go out of the recreation business and shuttered the facility, soon selling off nine of the holes.

“It was a pivotal moment in the history of this city,” says Melvin. “Not only was it a symbol of our struggles to come to terms with race and inequality in our city, but we nearly lost a great asset to Greensboro.” He points out that it took another seven years and a strong public backlash for a newly elected City Council to reopen (in the wake of the famous Woolworth sit-in) Gillespie Golf Course as a public nine-hole facility. That happened in December 1962.

George Simkins went on to lead successful desegregation campaigns against Cone Hospital and Wachovia Bank. He passed away in November 2001.

“This city owes George and his friends a great deal of gratitude for his foresight and their courage,” says the former mayor, whose stewardship of the Bryan Foundation spearheaded a major revival of Gillespie five years ago.

Funding from the Foundation allowed Greensboro-based designer Chris Spence to restore the golf course and create a new practice area and short course. With additional funding from the Wyndham Championship and other corporate partners, a complete renovation of an existing storage structure on the site became the new home of the First Tee of the Triad and eventually a teaching school for acclaimed golf instructor Kelly Phillips.

“Along with Winston Lake (in Forsyth County), Gillespie has become one of our two flagship First Tee facilities,” says Executive Director Mike Barber. “We started in 2011 with 300 kids across the region. But today we serve more than 1,500 a year in sixteen different locations. We have camps as far away as Statesville and Salisbury. Having a world class facility, like Gillespie not only attracts young golfers of every race and socio-economic nature to the facility but sends a wonderful message about fair play and character formation — and allows us to teach the core principles of First Tee to an eager new generation. Head pro Bob Brooks and his staff have made the place very special and the welcoming spirit very genuine. We believe it already is having a very positive impact on the surrounding community.”

“We couldn’t be prouder of the role we’ve played in the revival of Gillespie,” agrees Wyndham Tournament Director Mark Brazil. “When you go out there and see people of all races playing the course and some of the most promising young players in the region working with Kelly Phillips or just working on their games on the practice range, well, it gives you a good feeling about what golf can do in a young person’s life.”

“Many hands have gone into the revival of Gillespie, ” adds Melvin, who notes that the same South Carolina sculptor who created the handsome bronze statue of the late Joe Bryan that stands near the entrance to Bryan Park recently completed work on a similar bronze statue of George Simkins.

“George is really Greensboro’s Martin Luther King,” he adds. “Honoring him is long overdue.”

As was my first round on the Gillespie Golf Course. Happy to report, I was delighted by what I found. The former golf editor in me was pleased by the beautiful condition of the holes and impressed by the thoughtful design and classic traits of the layout. The remarkably modest green fees make Gillespie Golf an experience everyone can enjoy.

Even happier to report, a city landmark that was very nearly lost has come full circle, making the Greensboro kid in me feel like I’d finally come home.  OH

The Accidental Astrologer

Auspicious August

Have your cake — and half the icing too

By Astrid Stellanova

I’ve always gotten a kick out of how August-born Leos are creative types —extroverted and full of drama. But August-born Virgos are analytical types, who like working hard and being of service. This explains how come August is a lot of things to a lot of people: the month, for instance, we celebrate National Golf, Picnics, Peaches and, last but not least, Romance Awareness Month — with something for both sides of the spectrum to get a big old kick out of, Star Children. Ad astra — Astrid

Leo (July 23–August 22)

Gluttony is still a character defect, last time I checked. And when someone brings you a birthday cake, that does not mean you can scrape all the icing off, eat it till your stomach hurts and leave the plain old bald cake sitting there for everybody else. You know what you like, and once you’ve gone after it, you don’t care one iota if that sticks in someone’s craw as you swallow the last bite.  Celebrate yourself, Honey Child, but remember that might mean you leave at least half the icing on the cake for your friends.

Virgo (August 23–September 22

There was a time when being retro wasn’t cool. You missed that memo. Now you’ve grown into yourself and the time is finally right. Just keep that chin up and let everybody think you were simply way too cool to ever give a fiddle-fart what everybody else thought. Then become that person, Sugar.   

Libra (September 23–October 22)

Somebody ought to thank you, Captain Obvious. You have mastered the finer points of things that most people might think everyone sees. But they don’t, and you know it. So be true to yourself, Child, and let the jokes roll off your straight back. Busting out with a cuss word is not a good way to exercise your vocabulary.

Scorpio (October 23–November 21)

It has been an uphill climb for you, you’re hot and bothered, and your brain is as fried as a pork rind. Just when one weight rolls away another seems to find you. It’s easy to be you, because nobody else would take the job.  But it sure is going to have its perks; be patient.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Some think you are too big for your britches and have nowhere to hide.  Maybe you are. But maybe you have the right to stand up for yourself and not be overlooked or miss being counted. Everything sure isn’t what it appears. Like my bumper sticker says, honk if you love a good argument.

Capricorn (December 22–January 19)

You are still standing back, still wondering if you have what it takes.  Seriously? Does Dolly Parton let a bad hair day keep her off the stage? No, Honey. Your life didn’t start yesterday and leave you behind. It starts this very second so don’t miss it.


Aquarius (January 20–February 18)

What’s keeping you from the greatness you are born to enjoy? One degree of separation, my sweet pea. Only one. If you still want it, go for it. Unseen hands are reaching to help, and even if they are calloused, take them and dance.

Pisces (February 19–March 20)

Your honor student and your dog may be smarter than everybody else. But, Child, does that mean you are — all the time?  Don’t confuse pity with understanding. Also, don’t waste your last dime buying them lottery tickets, either.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Are pork and beans your two major food groups? Is Pigeon Forge your idea of heaven? Don’t apologize. Are you sure you want to be someone other than who you really are?  Bless your heart. You are just fine as you are, and pass me the Texas Pete. 

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Your reasoning lately makes no kind of sense. That’s like confusing collards with grits. When the whole mess in front of you is over and the collard stink clears from the room, the good news is your mind is going to clear, too. Blue skies are coming.

Gemini (May 21-–June 20)

Does your heart go pitter-patter when you hear a Harley? Is there a part of you that won’t be tamed? You let loose with the national anthem like you wrote it and make everybody smile. These passions are what make others love you, Sugar. Live your life out loud.

Cancer (June 21–July 22)

There’s a fine line between speaking your truth and using it like a blunt object. You scared your friends and neighbors, hollering as if that makes your argument one bit stronger. Sugar, it didn’t. Elvis died in August. The Mona Lisa was stolen in August more than a century ago — and it took two years to recover. It’s a tricky month ahead. But you don’t have to take that long to get a grip.  OH

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

Scuppernong Bookshelf

OH-bookshelf-8-16ftr

Auguries of August

How the eighth month portends literary greatness — and anguish

Serious people write books. Are these serious people predestined? Were they formed at the earliest age by a choice made by parents who unwittingly determined their futures in the act of naming? If you name your child “August,” echoing the name of Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, after whom the month is named, are you not dooming them to a life of distinction, renown and acclaim? It must be so. For this month’s Scuppernong Bookshelf we look at writers who shoulder the burden of living up to the name “August”— as well as books that use our most venerable month in their own titles.

August Wilson was a poet before he was a playwright, and it shows in the way his characters speak. They’re not poetic in the usual sense, but the words have force and power and music that rises from deep within them. Wilson has been a luminary in the American theater scene for decades and Fences (Plume, Reissue, $18.96) remains one of his most moving and acclaimed plays. It’s the late 1950s, and laborer Troy Maxson struggles with changing times and shifting roles of New York life around him. Fences is a story of family, pride and the ways we struggle to protect those we love.

Allen Ginsburg called the poet August Kleinzhaler, “a loner, a genius.” Kleinzhaler’s book, Storm Over Hackensack (Moyer Bell, Ltd. $11.99 paperback), is largely about his wayward brother’s suicide, and much of his work is haunted by his brother’s death.

Augusten Burroughs’ latest memoir, Lust & Wonder (St. Martin’s Press, $26.99), tries to figure out the difference between love and lust. Good luck! But Burroughs is a master at finding the humor alongside the horror, and this book, much like Running With Scissors, uses the very personal for an exploration of universal struggles.

Barbara Tuchman’s Guns of August (Presidio Press, paperback, $7.99) is too engaging to be a beach read, too weighty to be summer reading, yet we recommend it as part of our August bookshelf all the same. If there ever was such thing as a historical page-turner, this is it. Tuchman explains the causes of WWI with strong storytelling that you’ll even find absorbing, even the smallest of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s crude comments. Like any history writer worth his or her weight in Pulitzers (this author has two), Tuchman reclaims the past by bringing long-gone historical figures back to life. Though some of her theories about the Great War have been debunked since the book’s original publication in 1962, the storytelling alone makes it worth reading today.  

If you are looking for something compelling, dramatic, heavy and yet still a quick read, look to the stage! The 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama and Tony Award Winner for Best Play, August: Osage County, (Dramatists Play Service, $9 paperback) by Tracy Letts, is an inside look at a family brought together by the disappearance of their patriarch. The play explores themes of grief, addiction, and changing relationships both familial and romantic through the eyes of remarkably tangible and complex characters.

And the most famous literary August of all, Light in August (Vintage International paperback, $12.59), by William Faulkner, has its own family troubles. Joe Christmas tries to find a place in his Mississippi despite his mixed race, and that’s not going to turn out well. Ralph Ellison offers: “For all his concern with the South, Faulkner was actually seeking out the nature of man. Thus we must turn to him for that continuity of moral purpose which made for the greatness of our classics.”

What happens when writers name their own characters after the eighth cycle of the moon? Nothing good it seems. We all remember what happened to Augustus Glump in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And things don’t end famously for Augustus Waters in John Green’s touching The Fault in Our Stars. Our advice: Name your children or your characters after other months; try June or July, or April or May. Things will turn out better, we’re sure.

Hot New Releases for August 2016:

August 2: American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst, by Jeffrey Toobin (Doubleday, $28.95).

August 9: Three Sisters, Three Queens, by Phillippa Gregory (Touchstone, $27.99).

August 16: The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, by Amy Schumer (Gallery Books, $28).

August 23: Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White, by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Time Inc. Books, $27.95).

August 30: A Great Reckoning ( Chief Inspector Gamache Novel #12 ), by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books, $19.92).  OH

Scuppernong Bookshelf was written by Martha Adams-Cooper, Gabe Pollak, Steve Mitchell and Brian Lampkin.

Short Stories

High Five!

“I fancy that every city has a voice,” wrote William Sydney Porter, aka O.Henry, and five years ago this month, Greensboro found full-throated expression in the inaugural issue of this magazine. With a cover revealing author John Hart seated among the Gate City’s Who’s Who reading his novel Iron House — at, where else? The O.Henry Hotel’s Green Valley Grill bar — followed by a wildly popular second issue featuring architect Edward Loewenstein, O.Henry gave Greensboro residents reasons to celebrate their city. The celebration hasn’t slowed one bit in the last five years, as we’ve paid homage to our past, our art, our music, food, traditions, homes and gardens — thanks to the talents of Dodson, Schlosser, Johnson, Bailey, Adams, Blair, Wahl and Rose. But wait! There’s more: A literal fifth anniversary celebration replete with music, eats and drink will take place this fall. Keep reading these pages or facebook/ohenrymagazine for details.

Buzzworthy

It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that sting! Celebrate the pollinators so crucial to our food system on August 20, at the Guilford County Master Gardeners’ Bee Friendly to Bees Day. Coinciding with National Honeybee Day, the event takes place at the Guilford County Agricultural Extension (3309 Burlington Road, Greensboro) a veritable hive of activity, with displays by UNCG, N.C. State and the Xerces Society on native bees and the latest on bee research. Also featured will be a plant scavenger hunt and samples of pollinator-driven food from GTCC’s culinary department. There’ll be face-painting for kids, books to browse through, hot dogs and honey-inspired desserts, music and more. Info: ces.ncsu.edu.

Wynner Take All

And you’ll be a winner simply by strolling the beloved Donald Ross course to watch the pros tee off, drive, chip and putt at Sedgefield Coutnry Club (3201 Forsyth Drive, Greensboro) for the Wyndham Championship (August 15–21). Last year, the buzz was all about a certain icon named Tiger making an appearance — until N.C. native Davis Love III took home the trophy. Only the Fates can tell what will occur this year. Meantime, enjoy sporting a Hawaiian lei, munching on hot dogs, the merch . . . and a Greensboro tradition that has lasted seventy-seven years. Tickets: wyndhamchampionship.com.

Courtiers

Meaning, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, US of A’s Kevin Anderson and Sam Querrey, fresh off his takedown of No. 1 seed Novak Djokivic at Wimbledon. From August 20–27, watch these tennis pros and others serve (and grunt), volley and lob at the Winston-Salem Open (Wake Forest Tennis Center, 100 West 32nd Street, Winston-Salem). For a little extracurricular fun, Brenner Children’s Hospital hosts Kids’ Day (8/20) serving up pointers on tennis skills, fun and games and an appearance by the tournament’s mascot, Bo. On 8/22 salute our vets at Military Appreciation Night. And Hey Ladies! On 8/24, (Ladies Day) consider stopping in for a luncheon, how-to booths and fashion show  For more information and tickets: (336) 758-6409 winstonsalemopen.com.

More High Fives

As in, 5 By O.Henry at the Greensboro Historical Museum (130 Summit Avenue, Greensboro), arguably one of the oldest museum play series in the United States. For its thirtieth season, 5 By O.Henry’s performance dates (traditionally around the September 11, the birthdate of its namesake, William Sydney Porter), come early. This year, the series starts August 12–14, followed by another run August 18–21, and continues in mid-September (from the 12th through the 14th, and the 18th through the 21st). Whether your preference is matinee or evening, enjoy The Rathskeller and the Rose, The Fifth Wheel, Conscience in Art, Tobin’s Palm and Memento, all adapted for stage by Joe Hoesl and directed by Barbara Britton. Tickets: (800) 838-3006 or 5byohenry.bpt.me.

Park It!

After planning, digging, planting and rain delays, it’s finally ready. Carolyn & Maurice LeBauer Park (200 North Davie Street, Greensboro) officially opens on August 8th, with a dedication ceremony, classes, entertainment and two on-site cafes: Noma Food & Co., described as “fast-casual” Vietnamese and Ghassan’s, a longtime Gate City favorite serving up Mediterranean fare. The party continues all week, culminating on the evening of the 14th with the illumination of Where We Met, a canopylike sculpture by Julia Echelman, touted as the largest of its kind in the Southeast. There’ll be plenty more reasons to come to Le Bauer Park, including the last MUSEP concert by Wally West Little Big Band on the 28th . . . not to mention the last rays of summer before the busy, shortened days of fall. Info: cfgg.org.

Tune Up

So often we laud the music-makers of roots, bluegrass and old time genres but forget that the instruments themselves are art. Thanks to The Luthiers Craft: Instrument Making Traditions of the Blue Ridge, you can see the craftsmanship that informs musicianship. Originating at Mount Airy’s Museum of Regional History, the exhibit came to the High Point Museum (1859 East Lexington Avenue) last month and will be on view through December 17. It follows the work of guitar maker Johnny Henderson, fiddle makers Audrey Hash Hamm and Chris Testerman, and banjo maker Johnny Gentry, all of whom hail from Southern Appalachia and the Blue Ridge. With hands-on ways to explore their craft, don’t be surprised if you get a notion to start pickin’ and grinnin’. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.

These Colors DO Run

Get moving and get happy at the Color Vibe 5K Run on August 27. Starting at
8 a.m. on the corner of Lindsay and Church Streets, the event is not so much a reason to show off your athletic prowess as to have fun — and benefit the Healthy America Initiative, which promotes active and healthy lifestyles. You’ll dash around a loop with stations or “color zones” that douse you with paint. By the time you cross the finish line and head to the dance party and color throw, you’ll be sporting the full spectrum, reason enough to change your name to Roy G. Biv. To register: thecolorvibe.com.

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Ogi Sez

With everyone trying to get in a beach trip before Labor Day, August is typically the slowest music month of the year. Therefore, for this hot month we’re going a bit farther afield to find the hot acts. Oh, they’re out there, you just gotta look a bit harder.

• August 4, Muddy Creek Music Hall: You’ve likely heard the buzz over the past year about this fantastic venue in Bethania, and there will be no better time to check it out than this event. Billed as A Celebration of Southern Sirens, seven top-shelf local and regional songstresses (my fave is Emily Stewart) will be covering some of the greats, ®à la Misses Loretta and Tammy.

• August 10, Cone Denim Entertainment Center: Since forming in 1995, Chicago trio Chevelle has made the transition from alt. metal/post-grunge to mainstream hard rock, morphing from a cult act into respected touring and recording artists. This is what a power trio is supposed to sound like.

• August 14, Thirsty’s 2: If you can’t make it to the beach, let my old pal Thirsty bring the beach to you. There is no finer keeper of the flame of that indigenous Carolinas genre than the Band of Oz. Ocean Boulevard right here in our backyard.

• August 25, Haw River Ballroom: Yes, it’s off the beaten path, Saxapahaw to be exact, but they are bringing in some killer national acts that make the trip well worth it. Hard Working Americans is Americana stalwart Todd Snider’s new band, and they definitely live up to their name.

• August 27, Greensboro Coliseum: Now, this should be interesting. When I first heard that Axl Rose was replacing Brian Johnson as lead vocalist for AC/DC, I dismissed it as another Internet myth. But the rumors are true, and — guess what? — the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Who knew?

Wandering Billy

Oz-Mosis

From Gate City to Emerald City and back again, our local Scarecrow
scares up some chow and a new TV music series

By Billy Eye

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe

Land of Oz. Perhaps you recall that fabled but star-crossed 1970s amusement park nestled on Beech Mountain. You entered the attraction through Dorothy’s farmhouse as it emerged from a tornado. Exiting the home, you’d find it lying akimbo along the rocky surface, two legs in striped stockings sticking out from under the frame. Joining Dorothy’s journey down the Yellow Brick Road, park guests encountered the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and the Wicked Witch of the West. It all culminated with a big stage extravaganza at the Wizard’s Emerald City castle, after which, visitors were whisked back to the parking lot in a gondola cable car disguised as a hot-air balloon.

Neglected but mostly intact (except for the Emerald City) Oz was offering limited tours of what’s left of the park past June. I attempted to get tickets, but demand was so great it crashed their computer system. The gates to Oz will once again swing open for a bigger attraction this September, a yearly tradition that, over the last fifteen summers, has grown more and more popular.

Oz opened in 1970 as a sister attraction to Tweetsie Railroad; attendance was spotty even before a fire badly damaged the premises in 1975. The owners pumped major money into the venture in 1977, and that summer I was hired to play the Scarecrow for a promotional tour of shopping malls across a three-state region. It was the first successful mall tour ever undertaken. At the Carolina Circle, Dorothy and I entertained children with a musical puppet show created by Jerry Halliday. He’s a Vegas mainstay now with a risqué show you wouldn’t dream of taking your kids to. I only visited Land of Oz once, a VIP tour to give us a sense of what the attraction was all about. I’m curious to see what remains of this blockbuster motion picture-come-to-life in the North Carolina mountains.

The Food Truck Festival in May was a smashing success, a sunny Sunday afternoon gorge-a-thon downtown with fifty-three mobile eateries participating, including fare that ranged from Greek to Tex Mex. The Porter House Burger rig was mobbed from the start, smoking Municipal Plaza with the aroma of charred beef. (Is there any sweeter fragrance? I think not.) At times, block-long lines awaited Cousins Maine Lobster for their first trip to Greensboro. Lines also formed at Pearl Kitchen, Empanadas Borinquen and Urban Street Grill, apparently all worth the wait. I had a teriyaki chicken bowl with lemongrass steak skewers from Buddhalicious that tasted just like ones I enjoyed in L.A.’s Koreatown. By the shank of the evening you’d have thought it was the ganja festival, anyone selling confectionaries had streams of minions queued up, spilling over to Cheesecakes by Alex a block away where patrons lingered on the sidewalk waiting to get in. If the thought of sampling cuisine from dozens of the finest eateries in the state appeals to you, then rejoice that the festival returns at 4 p.m. on August 28th. Here’s a tip: Don’t even try to park nearby, and if you want something sweet, get that first; by 5:30 lines will have stretched too long as vendors run out of the good stuff. Or purchase an Early Bird wristband for $12, a portion of which benefits charity. You’ll have an hour’s head start on the hoi polloi (of which I’m a diehard member).

Just sneaked an early peek at the Hong Kong House Cookbook right about now at fine bookstores and on Amazon.com. Publisher Karen McClamrock has blended together a savory collection of Amelia Leung’s most beloved recipes from her family’s longtime Tate Street bistro, mouth-watering dishes like the Garden and Guitar Shop Burgers, Beef Shitake Snow Pea Stir Fry, those luscious egg rolls and garlic wings. Recipes are easy to follow and, as a bonus, there are plenty of photos from those halcyon days from the ’70s into the ’90s when Hong Kong House was the happening-est gathering spot just off campus.

I’m immersed in a project I’ve wanted to do for decades: producing a music television series. We shot footage for the first two of four episodes featuring local talent that includes Grand Ole Uproar, Taylor Bays and Rachel Anick, all of whom gave stellar performances. Uproar and Taylor have been faves of mine for years. Rachel I met just a few weeks ago. I met her after I stopped by Jeremy Parker’s downtown recording grotto where they’d just laid down her vocals for the song she performed on the show. It was revelatory, like hearing Tori Amos or Joan Baez for the first time. The program airs in August on cable channel 8. Scan your TV listings for The Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show, available on YouTube and iTunes in September.

That’s all the gibble-gabble I’ve gaily gathered. Over the coming months I’ll be telling you who’s the candidate you should be voting for and which religions are better than the others. Don’t miss that. OH

Billy Eye will be summering in Antarctica, just as soon as he can afford to.

So Delightful an Occupation

A patriotic anthem to gardeners, who are always young at heart

By Ross Howell Jr.

For several years I lived not far from Thomas Jefferson’s mountaintop estate, Monticello. I remember an archaeological dig under way on the mountain at the time.

Mulberry Row is an area that housed many of the plantation’s commercial activities in Jefferson’s day, as well as its enormous vegetable gardens. After meticulous excavation and research, the original buildings and gardens, including the Garden Pavilion overlooking the gardens and what Jefferson called his eastern “sea view,” were restored or recreated.

I liked visiting, seeing the progress. And the mountain was cooler, a relief from summer’s heat. It was wonderful to watch evening shadows lengthen across the lawn, the blues of the eastern view deepening as night came on.

Those memories are a reason the summer months put me in mind of Jefferson. And there’s the more obvious reason, of course — July Fourth. Of Jefferson’s many achievements, the Declaration of Independence was the one he most hoped his countrymen would remember him for.

And we do. We celebrate the words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” with a national holiday, with cookouts, ice cream, parades, maybe a picnic at the ol’ swimming hole, and evening fireworks.

But this summer, now that the U.S. Social Security Administration has proclaimed with this birthday I am of “full retirement age,” I’m also mindful of something else Jefferson is remembered for.

His love of gardens.

On August 20, 1811, Jefferson penned a letter to his friend, Charles Willson Peale, the American painter admired for his portraits of the Founding Fathers, especially of George Washington. “I have often thought that if heaven had given me choice of my position & calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth, well watered, and near a good market for the productions of the garden,” Jefferson wrote. “No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth . . . . But tho’ an old man, I am but a young gardener.”

Jefferson was just two years my elder at the time, so his words, along with the creaking of my knees as I weed a flower bed, serve as reminders that time is growing shorter, more precious.

Growing up on a mountain farm, I found work in my mother’s vegetable garden tedious. I much preferred working with our cattle and sheep. In spite of my mother’s passion, knowledge and skill, my interest in gardening didn’t come until later in life.

But Jefferson’s passion visited him as a young man and stayed.

In his “Garden Book” Jefferson kept records about the vegetables, flowers, fruits and trees he cultivated from 1766 to 1824 at Shadwell, his birthplace, and Monticello. He noted on February 20, 1767, that he “sowed a bed of forwardest and a bed of midling peas.”

The planting and harvesting of peas would be an enduring fascination for Jefferson. He participated in a competition with Monticello neighbors until very late in life̓ — whoever harvested the first pea of spring would host a celebratory dinner for the other competitors. Jefferson grew twenty-three varieties of peas at Monticello, notes Peter Hatch, the estate’s retired director of gardens and grounds. Maybe Jefferson was trying to load the odds in his favor.

While peas were a favorite, Hatch adds that Jefferson cultivated a wide variety of vegetables, including artichokes, asparagus and sea kale. Cucumbers were another favorite. He also grew “eggplants, sesame, hot peppers, okra, tomatoes, rutabagas, salsify and scores of other culinary novelties from the vegetable world,” Hatch writes.

According to Hatch, in 1769 Jefferson began planting fruit trees on the southeastern slope of the mountain, and in 1774, he began to plant Italian wine grapes provided by his neighbor and friend Philip Mazzei. He began, Hatch continues, with “extensive plantings of apple and peach trees in 1778 and 1782 in Monticello’s South Orchard, and the beginnings of vegetable-garden cultivation and the sowing of asparagus, peas and artichokes in prepared beds below Mulberry Row.”

Hatch writes that while serving as minister to France in 1786, Jefferson went on a tour of English landscape gardens with John Adams. The experience led him to introduce English features to Monticello, including the Grove, an 18-acre ornamental forest on the northwest side of the mountain. Its trees would be “trimmed very high, so as to give it the appearance of open ground,” Jefferson wrote, with the area “broken by clumps of thicket, as the open grounds of the English are broken by clumps of trees.”

Such a landscape feature would be relatively easy to create and economical to sustain, Jefferson felt, since it was only necessary to “to cut out the superabundant plants.” Aside from the beauty of the Grove, Jefferson pointed out a benefit we all look for in the summertime South. “Under the constant, beaming, almost vertical sun of Virginia,” he wrote, “shade is our Elysium.”

Jefferson felt that, over time, the mature Grove could be further refined with the introduction of vistas, glades and hardy perennial flowers. He even sketched a plan for thickets of shrubs arranged in a spiral pattern to suggest an informal labyrinth.

He was fascinated by native plants and their propagation, listing many in his Notes on the State of Virginia. He took delight in planting many of the specimens and seeds discovered on the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806).

Sometime after 1800, Jefferson wrote his “Summary of Public Service.” His purpose was to list achievements he considered notable, and to clarify some confusion about dates and legislation that had been attributed to him.

“I have sometimes asked myself whether my country is the better for my having lived at all?” he begins. Then he lists items that he viewed as beneficial. He includes items we would certainly expect: the Declaration of Independence, legislation regarding freedom of religion and an act in the Virginia legislature prohibiting the importation of slaves.

But Jefferson goes on to list other contributions that for most of us would be unexpected. He includes this notation: “In 1789. & 1790. I had a great number of olive plants of the best kind sent from Marseilles to Charleston for S. Carolina & Georgia. They were planted & are flourishing.” And another: “In 1790. I got a cask of the heavy upland rice from the river Denbigh in Africa. . . . which I sent to Charleston, in hopes it might supersede the culture of the wet rice which renders S. Carolina & Georgia so pestilential through the summer.” He concludes the rice entry by writing, “the greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.”

When you’re trying to think of a way to convince neighborhood rabbits to leave your peas alone, or attempting to unsnarl the Gordian knot on the head of your string trimmer, or watching your gladiolas droop in the heat, you probably aren’t feeling all that patriotic. You might be thinking only about getting a Jack Russell for the rabbits, or remembering to keep yourself hydrated.

But Jefferson, I believe, would want you to buck up. He would argue that you are a true patriot, the steward of a national legacy.

So this summer I want you to plant something.

Tree, shrub, vegetable, flower or seed, you’re going to have to nurture it. The task won’t be easy. Insects, voles, groundhogs and deer will conspire to defeat you. And an unforgiving sun. You’ll have to water and mulch your planting with care.

I’d even like you to make the planting a summertime tradition, a reminder of Independence Day. I’m doing it. By the time you read these words, I’ll have planted “Sweet Bubby,” a Carolina allspice bush, by my front porch, so my wife and I, along with friends, neighbors and guests, will enjoy its fragrance someday.

Of course, it would be much easier to plant successfully in the fall. But that’s the point.

Freedom and democracy are hard to maintain. They require passion, vigilance and perseverance. Like gardening.

In July 1826, Thomas Jefferson, 83 years old, had been lapsing in and out of consciousness at his mountaintop home for two days. His room had a view of his gardens, sweltering in the heat. From time to time, he would ask family members, “Is it the Fourth?” Not long after his grandson-in-law roused him in the morning with a touch on the shoulder to inform him Independence Day had come, Jefferson expired.

Far to the north, in Quincy, Massachusetts, 90-year-old John Adams, fellow patriot and signatory of the Declaration, lay clinging to life. From his bed he could hear the sounds of celebration for his nation’s fiftieth birthday. Though his friend had in fact passed away five hours earlier, Adams is said to have uttered with his last breath, “Thomas Jefferson still lives.”

After retiring from his second term as President, Jefferson wrote to a friend,  “All my wishes end, where I hope my days will end, at Monticello.” That’s how his life ended, with a legacy to be studied by the ages, “in the midst of” his grandchildren, his books, his farm, his beloved gardens.

You don’t have to be an old man like me, or Jefferson, to plant this summer. But do it. You’ll see it’s a serious and uncertain endeavor.

Whatever you plant, do your level best to keep it alive. One day it may prosper.  OH

Ross Howell Jr. is the author of the historical novel, Forsaken, and, in the interest of full disclosure, an alumnus of “Mr. Jefferson’s University.” His bride Mary Leigh, however, is a Chapel Hill alumna. Not long after the two were married, she took her husband to a basketball game in the Dean Dome, “just to make sure he had his head right.”

The Bear Facts

By Maria Johnson

You’d be amazed at the walk-ins we get here at the O.Henry office on Banking Street. We get people wanting to talk to Astrid Stellanova about her horoscopes; people wanting to see the editor of Our State magazine (?!); people wanting to mail a first-class package (we’re next to The Pack-N-Post). Mostly, we get people who want to pitch story ideas, which is great. Recently, there was a thud at the door, followed by a low rumble. We figured it was someone wanting to know if he could park in our lot while he ate at the hot new burger joint around the corner. But when we opened the door, there was a black bear.

Here is a transcript of the conversation:

OH: Can I help you?

B: Do you mind if I come in?  It’s getting a little hot out here, if you know what I mean.

OH: Huh?

B: (Looking over shoulder): Animal control. They’ve been tailing me all day.

OH: Sure, come in. Can I get you something?

B: I know it’s trite, but do you have any honey?

OH: I don’t think so. How about some agave syrup?

B: Sure. I like to try new things. I ate at a Thai dumpster last night. Tore me up. The sriracha, I guess.

OH: (Handing over syrup) Here you go. How can we help you?

B: I want you to write a story.

OH: About . . . ?

B: People. Every year, when my bros and I ramble through here, we see more people. Where do all of these people come from?

OH: Oh, they migrate here from all over.

B: That’s what I hear — they follow the highways into town.

OH: Is that a problem?

B: It didn’t used to be, but this is getting crazy. This time of year, we see people all the time. Take this morning — I was nibbling berries by a creek. I looked up, and there was a pack of people. A den, whatever you call them.

OH: What were they doing?

B: Just staring at me. It was unnerving. I thought they might attack.

OH:  What did you do?

B: Whaddya, nuts? I froze. I thought about running, but then I remember that you humans love to chase things. So I walked away very slowly. No disrespect, but you never know what humans are going to do.

OH: Have you ever tried scaring people off by making some kind of noise? Maybe standing up to make yourself look bigger?
B: Are you kidding? You know what happens when young black males like me get assertive.

OH: Hmm. By the way, what are y’all doing in these parts?

B: (Winking). Oh, you know. Looking for honey. No luck so far.

OH: Guess not. The state wildlife people say that breeding females have been confirmed as close by as Forsyth and Stokes counties, but not in Guilford County. Not yet, anyway. If anyone has photos of a mama bear and cubs in the Piedmont, they’d like to see it.

B: Me, too.

OH: . . . Because if we have breeding females around here, we’re going to be seeing a lot more of you guys from May through July.

B: Got that right. But look, we don’t enjoy urban life. Here’s what happens: We young bears get driven out of our home ranges by the older, dominant males. We go looking for new ranges and new females, so naturally we cruise the creeks and rivers at night. We have a few too many acorns, lap up a little too much branch water, and boom! Come sunup, we’re in the city. Suddenly, we’re on TV. Whoa! And I’ll tell you something else, it’s happening more often.

OH: Yeah, well, the number of people in this area is growing, and your populations to the east and west of the Piedmont are growing, so we’re bound to intersect more often.

B: Makes me want to build a damn wall.

OH: You could try it, but I doubt it would work. Besides, you admit that once you’re in the city, you raid trash cans and birdfeeders. Heck, you even eat pet food.

B: Have you ever tried gluten-free dog food?

OH: No.

B: It’s not bad. Hey, if you don’t want me on your porch, don’t keep kibble or hot young sows there. Seriously, though, I don’t want to get all up in your grill . . . mmmm . . . grillll . . . Where was I? Oh, yeah, I don’t want to get all up in your business anymore than you want me to. This morning, before I left my thicket, I actually looked around for people. Can you imagine?

OH: So what made you think you’d be safe at O.Henry?

B: Didn’t you dress up like a bear to promote A Walk in the Woods for the library’s One City, One Book campaign last year?

OH: Uh, yeah.

B: (Pounds his heart with his paw).

OH: OK, here’s my advice. Mind your own business. Generally speaking, humans won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. Sooner or later, they’ll move on. Just be patient.

B: You sounds like a Berenstain.

OH: Sorry for moralizing. Just be cool.

B: Whatever. Can I ask you something?

OH: Sure.

B: Which way to that burger joint dumpster?

OH: You like cheeseburgers?

B: Do I go in the woods?  OH

O.Henry maintains an open-door policy, just BYO honey. To learn more about bears, go to ncwildlife.org/bears. If you have a picture of a female bear with cubs in the Piedmont, contact the district wildlife biologist at jason.allen@ncwildlife.org.

Easter Still Rising

Depending on whom you ask, Robin Doby Easter is either one of the area’s most talented and acclaimed actresses or one of its most dynamic and powerful vocalists. Fortunately, hers is not a “never the twain shall meet” situation, for in truth she does both with equal aplomb and perfection.

“Seems I’m rehearsing for something all the time,” she says with a hearty laugh, “either with a band or for a musical or for a play. I’m definitely staying busy.”

Busy is an understatement. For starters, in May alone Easter performed twice at the Levitt AMP Greensboro Music Series at Barber Park — with a different ensemble each time. She is one of the Gate City Divas, a group composed of eight of Greensboro’s top-flight female vocalists, who just released an album, Goin’ to Town, and two weeks later, at the behest of pianist extraordinaire Dave Fox, sang with the Healing Blues Project. And while gearing up for those two shows, she was also rehearsing for a June 3 play at The Barn Dinner Theatre titled Miss Mary and the Boys  . . . before performing at City Market, Summertime Brews festival and with the Divas at the Greensboro Summer Solstice. And oh, yes, Easter just started a day job as a tour guide at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. And to top it all off, she is the proud mother of four boys, who’ve blessed her with eleven grandchildren.

Amidst all that, Easter’s primary gig is fronting her own band, Doby, a five-piece funk/soul/rock outfit that has been electrifying local and regional crowds since 2010. Prior to that, she was a member of the Stovepipes, a blues ensemble fronted by well-known guitarist David Bolton.

A Lynchburg, Virginia native who migrated to Greensboro to attend Bennett College, Easter’s initial pursuit was musical theater. Her credits include Dreamgirls, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Raisin and The Color Purple. She then decided to try her hand at nonmusical drama, joining the Touring Theatre of North Carolina, under the tutelage of Brenda Schleunes.

“She believed in me enough to cast me as a Nazi in one play,” Easter discloses. “Now, that was a stretch.”

The highlight of the singer/actress’s career thus far was touring with the world premiere cast of Maya Angelou’s And Still I Rise.

“It was the best experience ever, and I got to know Maya quite well,” she says. “She treated all of us like family. One day she invited me into her study where she was writing a poem, “On the Pulse of Morning,” which she read at President Clinton’s inauguration in 1993.”

This month, look for Easter and Doby on the road to Floyd Fest in Virginia on July 29 and 30, and will be back in the Triad at Winston-Salem’s Bull Tavern August 4 and on the stage at a MUSEP concert on August 14 at Bur-Mil Park.

Of her career path, Easter obviously has no regrets: “I did it for love and then started getting paid. God has given me some diamonds.”  OH

— Ogi Overman