Poem July 2026

Fourth of July Night

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Fourth of July Night

The little boat at anchor in black water sat murmuring to the tall black sky.

A white sky bomb fizzed on a black line.

A rocket hissed it’s red signature into the west.

Now a shower of Chinese fire alphabets,

A cry of flower pots broken in flames,

A long curve to a purple spray, three violet balloons —

Drips of seaweed tangled in gold, shimmering symbols of mixed numbers,

Tremulous arrangements of cream gold folds of a bride’s wedding gown —

A few sky bombs spoke their pieces, then velvet dark.

The little boat at anchor in black water sat murmuring to the tall black sky. 

 

                                      — Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was a poet, biographer, journalist and editor. He was awarded three Pulitzer Prizes, two for poetry and one for a biography of Abraham Lincoln.

A Faithful Companion

A Faithful Companion​

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A Faithful Companion

Hopper finds his home at High Point’s Buddhist Temple

By Cassie Bustamante

Photographs By Liz Nemeth

On an early-spring afternoon, Hannah Kohler drove up to High Point’s Buddhist temple in a Guilford County Animal Services van. Inside the vehicle was a gift for one of the resident monks, the Venerable John Manivong. The gift was a dog, but not just any dog. This was a special-needs dog, a three-legged canine with the improbable name of Hopper. 

Before that moment, Hopper, a brindle-coated beauty, had spent months at the Guilford County Animal Services shelter on Guilford College Road, where staff had guessed him to be an Akita mix. Akitas, according the American Kennel Club, are muscular, double coated and descend from ancient Japanese lineage. In fact, in Japan, the “venerated” breed is thought to be a symbol of good heath, happiness and a long life — all things the shelter hopes its rescues will find. Stuart Belcher, an animal care technician at the shelter, says, “Our biggest mission is just to get them comfortable, feeling safe, and then help them find their perfect person.”

Where better to feel a secure and loving presence than by the side of a Buddhist monk? According to Buddha Weekly, dogs embody much of what Buddhists strive for and can guide us humans toward love, responsibility and living in the present moment. Perhaps a young dog could teach an old monk new tricks.

Wat Prakeonaramith, the High Point temple, is a center for traditional Buddhist practices including daily alms, food offerings and Laotian New Year celebrations. Plus, the temple hosts three-day forest retreats that promote contentment, something well-nourished dogs are pros at.

When Hopper arrived in late March, it was love at first nuzzle for Manivong, who is known as Yapho John out of respect for his elder wisdom. “He have three legs, but I love it,” he says. The 76-year-old native of Laos made news earlier this year when he joined in the Walk for Peace, supported by a walking stick as he traveled from Charlotte to Greensboro’s Grandover Resort. (Due to his age, the organizers didn’t want him to do more than that, but he was able to travel later, meeting at the Washington, D.C., finish point.)

Despite the immediate bond between monk and mutt, Hopper, who is estimated to be a little over 2 years old now, had to be sent back to the shelter from whence he came to comply with the temple’s strict protocol regarding gifts.

“It was a heartbreaking thing,” says Hannah, communication coordinator for Animal Services. The shelter, she says, had been operating under the assumption that the temple was aware of Hopper’s adoption. But, according to the temple coordinator, Andy Le, any gift requires approval from the temple board. The tripod dog, it seemed, hadn’t found his forever home quite yet.

Before meeting Yapho John, Hopper had been patiently waiting for his human. For reasons the shelter staff couldn’t fathom, no one scooped up the lovable pup who bubbled with personality. With his love of toys and walks — and even companionable silence — he was the ideal pup. “That’s why I was so shocked that it took him a while to get adopted because he just checks all the boxes,” says Stuart. “But I think sometimes the three legs can make some people very apprehensive.”

A quadruped canine at the time of his December 1, 2025, arrival, Hopper was discovered as a stray when someone called him in because their chickens were all riled up. Clearly, he was on the hunt for his next meal, though hobbling along due to an obviously serious back left leg injury. But, notes Stuart, “You could tell he wasn’t ready to give up or anything.”

Shortly after his intake, the shelter vets made the tough decision to amputate. The staff had already taken to calling him Hopper, but now the question arose as to whether or not his name could be perceived as insensitive for a three-legged dog. In the end, they decided that he looked a little like Hopper from the paranormal TV series Stranger Things, a character, much like this affable mutt, who never gives up. “He was always determined,” Stuart says. “You know, you could not get that guy to slow down — ready to meet people, ready to go, ready to play, ready to interact. So he definitely fit the name.” As for that amputation, it didn’t seem to phase him one bit. He kept putting one paw in front of the other and was made available for adoption on December 27.

It would be over three months before Hopper would find his home. Prolonged stays happen more than the shelter staff would like. The shelter houses upwards of 100 dogs and 50 cats at a time and some, sadly, eventually, are put down, such as the extremely ill or those who are injured beyond the state Hopper was in.

Left: Stuart Belcher and Hannah Kohler sidle up next to 4-year-old Lucy, a 95 lb cuddlebug who’s looking for her next lap

Middle: Big Boy, a 3-year-old lab mix, is a gentle soul seeking someone to stroll softly and slowly with him through the world

Right: Mama Woods, a 6-year-old, sits, shakes and high-fives – especially when a pup cup is involved – but she’ll happily sit by your side

“There’s always going to be at least 10 or 20 dogs that are going to fall through those gaps every month, that people just don’t notice,” Stuart says. “But if you keep trying, even though it’s five months later, all it takes is that one person coming in.”

In Hopper’s case, his one person was Yapho John. After just a few hours together, says Andy, “They got attached to each other. So, Yapho John tells the temple board, say, ‘Pretty please, a cherry on top, I want the dog.’”

Yapho John made his plea and waited for the board to deliberate Hopper’s fate.

Four or five days later, says Hannah, the shelter got word that his adoption had been approved. She and one of the intake staff members loaded him up in one of the animal control vans and headed to the temple, where Yapho John was waiting. The reunion? “It was like a Disney moment!” exclaims Hannah, who admits that the way this adoption went down was rather unconventional. “It’s not what we recommend. But he fell in love with the dog, regardless.” Smiles stretched across both dog and human faces as Yapho John repeated the words, “I missed you, Hopper.”

The day Guilford County Animal Services made the news social-media official? April 1. “A couple people thought we were pulling a prank,” says Hannah. “But, no, it was for real. Hopper found a home.”

Now, a few months later, Hopper has settled in, spending his days by Yapho John’s side. “I like to walk outside all the time,” says Yapho John. “He will follow me everywhere.”

Stuart now admits she’d had one little concern about Hopper’s new home: “He might be too energetic for an old monk.”

Yet, when it’s time to meditate in the temple, Hopper waits patiently just outside the door for Yapho John. Stuart says she and her coworkers initially erupted at the thought of Hopper just sitting and meditating. “We all laughed. We said, ‘If anybody needs to meditate though, it is Hopper!’”

So far, the Buddhist way of life is suiting Hopper just fine.

“I am so happy,” says Yapho John, his faithful companion by his side.  OH

Though it’s located a stone’s throw from Interstate 74, the Wat Prakeonaramith temple is a colorful, woodland oasis. Vibrantly-painted buildings, fences, murals and shrines adorn the hub of the 14-acre property “where Lao Cultural Tradition melds with Buddhist Forest Tradition.” Here, the two resident monks, John Manivong, aka Yapho John, and Venerable Dr. Pra Maha Ajahn Wichian, adhere to a strict discipline that includes eating one meal a day, celibacy, detachment from worldly belongings and meditation — often by walking in the woods — with a goal of enlightenment.

Founded in 2016, Wat Prakeonaramith welcomes visitors and volunteers in an environment that fosters peace, compassion, wisdom and connection to nature. The temple even hosts an annual Lao New Year festival every April where guests can immerse themselves in the culture for a weekend. The monks not only serve as role models of what it means to let go of material longing, but also lead no-cost meditation retreats on site.

Yapho John only became a monk a little over a year ago. Before that, he’d been married with grown children. His new companion, Hopper, he jokes, has filled him with so much love that it’s like having another child. Prior to his adoption, the shelter had guesstimated Hopper’s birthday to be on the same day Yapho John became a monk, so the temple celebrated both last month.

His former wife, Sandy Manivong, now serves as secretary of the temple board. The two first stepped onto the path to enlightenment together. “Sell our house, everything,” she says. “We’re still trying to practice to the point that we won’t attach to anything,” she adds. “We try to free our spirit.”

Sandy explains how to free the spirit using a metaphor of a cup full of water. In goes salt, representing dukkha, or negative emotions and suffering. Suffering is just part of the human experience, whether it’s financial, physical or emotional. But through releasing attachment to material things or sending loving thoughts to those who have wronged you, you fill your cup with more water, diluting its saltiness. In the Buddhist principle of reincarnation, what you do in this life flows over into the next one, creating karma, which is inherently neither good nor bad. Ideally, each life cycle, or samsara, that you go through will be purer than the last. The ultimate goal is to reach nirvana, the point where the cycle ceases.

“So when we pass, we just, nothing will come back,” says Sandy, also in her 70s. “We just kind of let go.”

For Yapho John, simply practicing Buddhism wasn’t enough. He chose to become a monk, abandoning belongings and shaving his head to symbolize the letting go of vanity. When he set out on that spiritual path, the plan was to go to Laos, where he would practice mindfulness in the forest, meditating and connecting with nature. “But this temple needed help,” says Sandy. “So that’s why we end up here.”

At first glance, the temple buildings are a kaleidoscope of bright colors, painted in vivid reds, turquoises, yellows and greens. But, temple coordinator Andy Le points out, “We need a better living condition — living conditions, building conditions.”

He gestures to a breezeway ceiling that connects two buildings. “This is not really up to code in some ways.” The meditation space, he says, could use temperature control.

“When you go in there, it’s too hot, too cold, too hot,” says Yapho John, who would like to welcome guests to meditate with him in a comfortable space.

The first night Hopper slept at his new home, Yapho John worried that Hopper might be cold. “I could not sleep all night,” he says, noting that he eventually got up from his own bed to bring Hopper a blanket.

Now that Hopper has found his home at the temple, those much-needed donations have been on the rise, allowing for the purchase of a fence and doghouse for him. Plus, toys and other goods have been dropped off. Some have even bought items from the temple’s Amazon wish list.

Maybe with enough funds, Andy jokes, the large property could serve as home to more dogs. 

To find out more, visit watprakeonaramithhp.org.

Natty, the Therapy Dog

Natty, the Therapy Dog

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Natty, the Therapy Dog​

A rookie pooch at GFD chills out in the hot seat

By Ross Howell Jr.

Photographs by Becky & Bert VanderVeen

Ask anyone in the Greensboro Fire Department, and they’ll tell you rookie year is tough.

Sure, you’ve survived training, passed your exam and received your city employee number. But for months you’re still on probation and can be fired for shortcomings in your performance, conduct or attitude.

And while you’re learning the job and getting accustomed to an unusual work schedule, you’re also trying to prove yourself in the eyes of fellow firefighters — and meet strict GFD standards for performance, conduct and safety.

It’s a delicate balance between standing out and blending in.

But for one GFD rookie, it’s not possible to blend in.

She attracts attention wherever she goes. Maybe it’s that lush, flaxen mane that glints in the sunlight. People call out to her by name. And word is, she got the job because of the boss, Fire Chief Jim Robinson.

Now that’s pressure.

But if Natty, the young female golden retriever who is GFD’s first therapy dog, is feeling the heat, she sure doesn’t show it.

Most days, you’ll find her at the department’s public safety training facility next to Fire Station 1 on Church Street, chilling — the ill-informed might say napping — by the desk of her handler, Capt. Shawn Hyatt, who runs the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)-training program for all GFD staff and trainees.

Natty may look relaxed, but, like her handler, she has a big job.

“When Chief Robinson was named to his position, one of the first things he said that he wanted was a therapy dog for firefighters,” says Patty Potter, a retired anesthesiologist who serves as president of the Greensboro Firefighters Association. It’s a relatively new nonprofit organization established to support the morale, community engagement, and physical and mental health of GFD members. Raising funds to bring on Natty was the association’s first project.

“Ed Kitchen, who is a board member of our association, also serves as president of the Bryan Foundation,” Potter says. “They provided the donation for a therapy dog.”

Not long after, Natty was picked up from a breeder in Asheboro. She was 8 weeks old.

“So, here we are,” Potter adds, laughing.

Natty wags her tail.

“For first responders, there’s a lot of stress,” Hyatt points out. “The hours are crazy, they see plenty of trauma and sometimes they come up with unhealthy ways of trying to cope.”

“The chief had seen health issues in the department,” Potter explains. “Alcoholism, drug use, depression, potential suicide — things like that.”

Hyatt nods in agreement.

“Those aren’t just department issues,” he says. “Those are national issues.”

A Greensboro native, Hyatt worked in construction before earning his EMT certification. He has 12 years with GFD — two as a captain.

“When I got my own station, I had a bunch of young guys on the crew,” Hyatt says. He recalls a shift when he took his firefighters on a stressful emergency call.

“I’d seen stuff like that probably a dozen times, so I could just move on,” he continues. But Hyatt realized that his younger firefighters might have never experienced anything like what they’d just witnessed.

Back at the station, he got them together to talk about the call and see how they were doing.

“I learned that was something important to do,” Hyatt remembers.

Although she’s still new to the job — still a puppy for that matter — Natty has participated in a similar session. Recently, firefighters returned from a difficult call and reached out to Hyatt to see if he and Natty would come by their station.

“So we drove out,” Hyatt says. He told the firefighters that he wasn’t there for a counseling session, that nobody was expected to speak if they didn’t want to.

“What I saw in that environment was that Natty can be a conversation starter,” he continues. “The guys just seemed to relax and open up, and we hung out for a while and talked.”

Carol Key, GFD deputy chief of essential services, points out an interesting aspect of firefighters’ response to stress.

“Many times, when someone has been on a severe call and we suggest they take time off, they reject that idea,” Key says. “They actually prefer to be around the people who work with them.”

That fact has led to the development over the years of a robust GFD peer support teams program that has become an important component of maintaining firefighter health.

The support teams’ work is strictly confidential, so Key is not privy to any conversations, but she knows that the groups are very active. Support teams are sometimes requested by other fire departments — even as far away as Florida.

“Natty can be a part of that effort,” she continues. “If a peer can show up with a dog and help a firefighter calm down, that’s very valuable.”

Golden retrievers are noted for being friendly, eager to please and gentle — ideal for the role of providing solace. But Hyatt points out that Natty’s disposition is more important than her breed.

“You’re looking for the right dog with the right personality and giving her good, basic obedience training,” he says. The goal is to develop a dog who remains calm and does her job, even when facing distractions or stress.

“Dogs, by themselves, are a kind of therapy,” Hyatt says. “Any dog.”

Studies have shown that interacting with a dog reduces cortisol, the hormone associated with stress, releases oxytocin, the hormone associated with feelings of well-being and happiness, slows heart rate and lowers blood pressure.

“But it’s not like we’re thinking, ‘Alright, now we’ve got a dog and everybody’s going to be fine!’” Hyatt adds, smiling.

“Natty’s just another piece of the puzzle that helps us address the mental and emotional health of the people in our department,” he concludes.

Natty recently returned to Greensboro after a couple of weeks in Charlotte, where she completed additional work with her original trainer, a retired fireman.

“She’s still a work in progress,” Hyatt says. “But she’s doing great.”

When Natty’s not at the training facility, she’s at home with Hyatt and his family and their two dogs.

“She’s a part of the family now,” he adds.

Hyatt continues her training daily, working in 20-minute sessions on obedience and interaction with people in public spaces.

Not as large as the fireman’s helmet she was photographed next to when she first arrived at GFD, Natty’s getting to be a big girl now, weighing in at 45 pounds. When she’s fully grown, she’ll tip the scales at around 60 pounds, roughly the weight of the full turnout gear — including breathing apparatus — that firefighters wear when they answer a call.

Service dogs, as you’d expect, must wear service vests.

Hyatt shakes his head.

“She went through a phase where she just exploded,” he says. “She outgrew the first vest we bought so fast, I decided to wait and see how much bigger she was going to get.”

Natty lifts her head, raising her ears to listen as several police academy recruits pass through the training facility lobby, heading for an EMT class. The space reverberates with the laughter of a group of firefighters talking nearby.

Natty yawns and stretches out on her side.

I ask Hyatt what he believes Natty would want readers to know.

“Just how important she is, how happy she makes everybody, how she loves people,” he replies. “That’s her job,” he adds. “To be Natty.”  OH

Ross Howell Jr. is a contributing writer.

The Spirit of ’76

The spirit of '76

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The spirit of '76

Hooper, Hewes and Penn

By Warren L. Bingham

It’s 2026, which means it’s time to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial. Since semiquincentennial sounds like a dreaded medical procedure, the celebration’s formal organizers just call it America 250. For this special anniversary, we should do more than the customary overindulgence in hot dogs, ice cream and fireworks on the Fourth of July. We should remember.

Sometime before the last Roman candle brightens the sky, you should consider paying tribute to three important Founding Fathers whom you’ve likely never heard of: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes and John Penn, the trio from North Carolina who signed the Declaration of Independence, which is, after all, the reason for all this merrymaking and bottle-rocketing. The Fourth is about the Declaration.

The three North Carolinians were among a total of 56 signers of the Declaration. Great Britain considered all of them to be traitors, for which they risked their lives. The last line of the Declaration summarizes the gravity of the signers’ commitment: We mutually pledge to each other our lives, fortunes, and our sacred honor. Had the American rebellion failed, the signers would have likely been executed in the public square. Or as Benjamin Franklin, the oldest signer of the Declaration at the age of 70, observed, “We must all hang together or assuredly we shall hang separately.”

In July 1776, the Continental Congress, composed of delegates from the 13 British colonies lining the Atlantic Coast from

New Hampshire to Georgia, had been in session in Philadelphia for over a year. Hooper, Hewes and Penn, selected by their peers in North Carolina’s Provincial Congress, represented North Carolina. The primary topic was governance and whether the Colonies should seek independence from Great Britain.

The Colonies had recently ousted royal governors, and now Colonial assemblies were trying to figure out how to best govern themselves — but the people were still subjects of King George III, and a good number of Americans liked it that way. Many felt it was beneficial to remain with Great Britain, and numerous English, Scots and Scots-Irish settlers had known only loyalty to the king. Some historians describe the Revolutionary War as America’s first civil war.

News of deadly skirmishes in New England perpetrated by British troops against local militia, combined with King George III’s uncompromising efforts to tax and regulate the Colonists, increasingly drove Americans to question their loyalty to the Mother Country. The women of eastern Carolina were notably engaged in their own protest of the crown and the British Parliament. Fifty-one women, led by Penelope Barker of Edenton, lent their names in the fight against tyranny when they staged the Edenton Tea Party in 1774. Parliament had passed several taxes on imported British goods, and the ladies of Edenton called for a boycott of British imports.

As debates about independence crept along in Philadelphia, delegates would come and go, tending to matters at home. Among the dozens of delegates from the 13 Colonies, rarely was everyone present at the same time. Travel was hard — the trip by horse from North Carolina to Philadelphia took two to three weeks.

In North Carolina, momentum for self-governance was growing. In May 1775, Mecklenburg County leaders met in Charlotte and publicly resolved their desire for independence. Then, in April 1776, the North Carolina Provincial Congress put forth the Halifax Resolves in which North Carolina became the first Colony to call for independence from Great Britain. From that action in Halifax comes a significant claim: North Carolina — First in Freedom.

In January 1776, Thomas Paine, a theretofore little-known writer and thinker, released his pamphlet, Common Sense, which strongly advocated for American independence from Great Britain. Written for the masses, Paine called monarchies absurd and implored Americans to unite, proclaim independence, and create a democratic government. Paine’s words resonated. Common Sense was a bestseller. As the season turned from spring to summer, throughout the Colonies, the call for independence was as hot as the weather. The delegates in Philadelphia got the message.

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress set forth the Declaration of Independence, which spelled out grievances with Great Britain and specifically with King George III. The collective body declared the “united” States of America to be free and independent states, absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown. 

The Declaration was the seed of the future, but the lower case “u” in united, as printed in the Declaration, meant that each state was sovereign. For the time being, the states within their new independence would move forward in a loose alliance. That alliance took on the British military, and after eight years of battles and skirmishes from New Hampshire to Georgia and all the land in between, independence was secured in 1783.

Despite their noble role in representing North Carolina in Philadelphia, Hooper, Hewes and Penn are relatively unknown today. They all died in their late 40s, and though they made continued contributions to the fledgling state of North Carolina after July 4, 1776, they never became widely heralded. Though each man is recognized by historical markers and tributes at their graves, there are no places in North Carolina named in their honor.

There are, however, places around our state for some of the big founding names. The town of Washington is on the Pamlico River, and the town of Jefferson is in the Blue Ridge. Franklin County is named for Ben, as is Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Fayetteville is named for Lafayette, the young French officer who served under Washington. Thanks to a modern Broadway play, practically everyone now knows Alexander Hamilton. Hip-hop has proven to be a Revolutionary educator.

Even though he wasn’t from North Carolina, Gen. Nathanael Greene has several namesakes here, enough to make other Revolutionary leaders green with envy: Greensboro, Greenville and Greene County are all named in honor of the general. Additionally, a Greensboro brewer produces Natty Greene beer. Cheers!

Beyond its signers of the Declaration, North Carolina produced its share of founding heroes. Some of them are honored with county namesakes: Nash, Harnett, Moore, Jones, Lenoir and Sampson were all North Carolinians and founding leaders, but there are no counties named for Hooper, Hewes or Penn.

None of our signatories were originally from North Carolina, but that was not unusual in their day. In the 1770s, it’s thought that over half the residents of North Carolina had come from somewhere else. It was a time of significant population growth and resettlement, and newcomers were plentiful in the state. People came from other states and abroad seeking land and opportunity, bringing new talents and skills, and new ways of thinking.

In 1776, William Hooper was a Wilmington lawyer, but he had previously lived in Campbelltown (present-day Fayetteville) and at one time served in Royal Gov. William Tryon’s legal department. Hooper had been a Royalist, a reminder that everyone in the Colonies was a subject of the king. His wife was the former Anne Clark, daughter of a New Hanover sheriff.

Born to a prominent Boston family in 1742, Hooper’s father was the second rector of Trinity Church. His son graduated from Boston Latin for his prep education, then earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at Harvard University. Trinity Church, Boston Latin and Harvard are all still up and running. In addition to his formal training, Hooper studied law in Boston in the early 1760s under Boston lawyer James Otis, who was known for his strong advocacy of Colonial rights.

At the time of the Declaration, Joseph Hewes was a well-established Edenton merchant who had served in Colonial assemblies for 20 years. Hewes was in import-export trading and was a shipbuilder. Born on his family’s large farm in Kingston, New Jersey, in 1730, Hewes completed his formal studies at Kingston Friends School and was apparently bound for college at Princeton but — in today’s vernacular — turned pro instead. Strong-willed and ambitious, Hewes was drawn to commerce and in lieu of college, sought practical training as an apprentice to a Philadelphia merchant.

After five years of dock work and learning the trading business from the cargo hold up, Hewes struck out on his own, at first in Philadelphia. But by 1755, he was making a life and career for himself in Edenton. Hewes was engaged to marry the well-connected Isabella Johnston of Edenton, sister of Samuel Johnston, a future North Carolina governor. The Johnstons’ uncle was former Royal Gov. Gabriel Johnston. Sadly, Isabella Johnston died after a short illness before her marriage to Hewes could take place, and Hewes never married.

By 1776, John Penn was a known advocate for independence. A Virginia native who grew up on a small farm near the Rappahannock River in Caroline County, Penn was born in 1741 to a hard-working farm family. Though he received little formal education in his late teens, after the death of his father, he could afford to take time to study the law. John Adams famously said, “All Virginia geese are swans.” Yet, despite his Virginia birth and rearing, Penn was more goose than swan — but an ambitious, hard-working, smart goose.

Unlike Hooper and Hewes, he was not of the Eastern North Carolina elite. He lived in Granville County, in the northern Piedmont, where he farmed and maintained a successful law practice. His wife, the former Susannah Lyme, was a native of Granville County, and their marriage is what brought Penn there. He was more typical of back country settlers who lived simpler lives and distrusted both the Crown and the Eastern North Carolina elite.

Though Penn was ready sooner than most to move on from Great Britain, Hooper and Hewes were not early rabble-rousers for independence. In fact, in 1775, Hewes was among the leaders in the Continental Congress that offered the Olive Branch Petition to King George, an offer for a reset in relations between the Americans and British through peaceful means. The offer was rebuffed by George III.

Frustrated by repeated British affronts, heavy taxes and regulations, enforced at times by corrupt officials, the North Carolina signers grew to accept that independence was the inescapable course. Hooper, Hewes and Penn were amiable colleagues, but not close friends. Their bond was a shared belief in the principles of self-governance, democracy and individual freedom — the spirit of ’76.

The North Carolina trio had challenges during the ensuing war. Hooper’s home, Finian, was situated on 100-plus acres on Masonboro Sound south of Wilmington. The British bombed and burned Finian, and Hooper and his entire family were forced to flee to Hillsborough, where they lived out their lives.

Leaving his family, farm and law practice for long periods, Penn attended more days of the Continental Congress than any other North Carolinian. Over the years, he was a member of 15 or more Congressional committees. Back home, Penn was involved in equipping and supplying both the North Carolina militia and soldiers of the Continental Army.

During the war, Hewes was in Philadelphia more than in Edenton, often using his knowledge and skill in trade and shipbuilding to help the American cause. He was in effect the first secretary of the Navy. As the war raged, his health worsened and he grew increasingly weak, probably from malaria. He died in his Philadelphia rooming house in 1779 and was laid to rest nearby in Christ Church Burial Ground, just a few hundred yards from where he signed the Declaration of Independence.

If not the authors, the three Carolinians — Hooper, Hewes and Penn — were witnesses and signatories to what historian Walter Isaacson has characterized as The Greatest Sentence Ever Written. “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 pursuit of Happiness.”

That’s not nothing. OH

Warren L. Bingham is a speaker, writer and author of George Washington’s 1791 Southern Tour.

A French Dream in the Triad

A French Dream in the Triad

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A French Dream in the Triad

And it will only get better with age

By Cynthia Adams

Photographs by Amy Freeman

With an upbeat persona and eye for beauty, Caitlin Covington is a force in social media, proving the power of the positive. With more than 1 million followers, she has leaned into her love of the fall, family and fashion. Her new home reveals a deep affection for all things French.

Home base for Caitlin Covington is a far cry from the UNC-Chapel Hill dorm room where her blogging life began 15 years ago on a lark. Of course, back then, no one really understood that it could grow into a lucrative career.

It is a Provencal beauty set in Winston-Salem that she and her husband, Chris Dorsch, began building in 2021.

First, there is un courette, a small courtyard, with trimmed boxwoods in Versailles planters. A low stone wall defines the perimeter of the front of the home where Covington captures life en famille.

Wisteria vines are in place and will eventually climb the creamy stucco exterior. Cornflower-blue working shutters, complete with shutter dogs, punctuate the dual-sash windows. A walk-out balcony overlooks the handsomely limed door at the front entrance.

Cue a bluebird — er, rather, a French magpie!

Set in a secluded residential pocket within the city, the overall effect makes you forget this isn’t a French suburb. Designed by Asheville architect Greg Koester, the home’s understated beauty relies upon architectural touches he sourced.

“The barrel tiles used on the roof are from France — the marble floors, too,” says Covington. In fact, the foyer’s aged-to-perfection marble tile was recycled from a French cathedral.

Limestone fireplaces convey classical French style. The exposed beams, multiple fireplaces, elevated ceilings and architectural flourishes include custom-designed doors and even air vents.

The appeal of those materials is that they deepen with age. Patina, Covington mentions, inspired their conversations with the architect from the very start.

Even the family pet is winsomely charming. The 9-year-old teacup Goldendoodle, Winnie, is a nod to Winston-Salem.

From the very beginning, Covington has invited readers into her life. Her 1.3 million Instagram followers, along with daughters Kennedy, 5, and Collins, 2, were awaiting baby number three in May. People Magazine reported on the viral influencer’s latest pregnancy when it was announced on Instagram last November.

Followers vicariously experienced the couple’s 2012 meeting in Greenville, S.C., when she worked in public relations, and Dorsch was then a mortgage banker. A six-year courtship ensued.

“We met through mutual friends at a group dinner just a few weeks after I started my job. A favorite story of ours is that our first date was actually a lunch date because Chris insisted that lunch dates were ‘harmless’ — in an effort to convince me to go on a date with him, ha-ha,” she shares.

Dorsch left Greenville the next fall to attend graduate school at Wake Forest University. “We both got apartments,” he says. “By then, Caitlin was blogging full time.” Covington’s social media work was now successful enough for her to leave public relations.

“Chris and I got married in Charleston, S.C., in June of 2018,” she says. Fans watched the couple’s romantic wedding unfold in posts. By then, Covington was an old hand at content creation.

After marriage, they lived in Clemmons in a new home, but jumped when, in 2021, they learned of a development in one of Winston-Salem’s oldest residential neighborhoods.

Although only in their 30s they both gravitate to homes that feel timeless.

“It is really rare to find undeveloped land in the Buena Vista area of Winston-Salem, so we quickly acted on it, and we were able to buy the land,” she explains. The developer required all new builds to be architect-designed.

Covington had followed the work of designer-architect duo Brooke and Steve Giannetti, former Californians now living in Tennessee.

“This book is where the inspiration for this house came from,” she says, holding up the Giannettis’ Patina Homes, chock-full of their French and European-inspired designs, all leaning toward simplicity.

Covington and Dorsch interviewed builders, architects and interior designers before breaking ground in 2022. The couple met with Koester, who showed them some of his projects. She showed him her favorite images from the book.

“I said, this is the kind of house that I would like, and he was so on board with the project,” she recalls, referencing the book. “He was like, you know, let’s go to France and let us do research. He was just so excited.” While a group trek never materialized, the project did inspire the couple to plan a trip to France.

A Triad native, the architect began his career in New York and bases Gregory Koester Designs in Asheville. His residential projects span the state and nation, including new houses and renovations and additions to older ones. 

Covington deeply admires how French style softens with imperfections and age. As they refined their ideas for the home, the couple considered their favorite details in Koester’s existing designs.

“Houses that he has done just spoke for themselves,” says Covington.

Koester assured the couple he could make their environs seem intimate even given spacious public rooms, five bedrooms, and four-and-a-half baths. “One of the things that Greg told us when we first met him is, ‘I like designing big houses, but ones that feel really cozy.’”

He translated nearly 6,000 square feet into functional, human-scale spaces. “You don’t need a big house with tons of big rooms,” she recalls he first advised.

Covington heaps further praise on the team that created what she and Dorsch call a dream home. Koester enlivened the French Provincial design they wanted. There is ample praise, too, for builder Jonathan Lee, who “was able to take our vision and make it a reality!” 

The core design team, including architect, builder and landscape designer, had worked together previously. “And we loved that familiarity between them,” says Covington.

They chose Kate Marker Interiors out of Chicago as the interior designer.

Jeffrey Allen Landscape Architecture created an exterior design for the property.

“Our house was officially finished in October of 2024,” she says. 

Despite the distance between the Triad and Chicago, the couple worked collaboratively with Marker, exchanging ideas. The designer kept in step with the personality of their family. Nothing too stuffy nor period made the cut; the interior colors and furnishings were kept tonally quiet and soothing.

Marker has described the resulting interiors as “refined French with a relaxed soul.” 

The house is famous in its own right. It has been featured in the Robb Report and House Beautiful.

When completed, Covington posted a video tour of their home.

In the caption, she wrote: “Someone pinch me; I’m pretty sure I’m dreaming.”

Covington smiles at the memory. “We really wanted the house to look like someone had picked it up out of France and dropped it in Winston-Salem.”

Given that Covington once posted from her dorm room in Chapel Hill, it was certainly an upgrade. Avid followers of her blog, Southern Curls and Pearls, now frequently glimpse the interiors, especially her study and the open kitchen.

Their work lives melded when Dorsch left his role at Hanesbrand as chief financial officer in April 2023 to devote his time to their social media advertising and promotion company.

As both work at home and nontraditional hours, the spacious kitchen is put to good use, he says. A multiburner French stove, pot filler and deep sinks aren’t merely there for optics.

“I cook a lot, so this is where we’re spending a lot of our energy,” says Dorsch, who enjoys creating healthy, savory meals.

The butler’s pantry features a coffee nook with a hard-working Breville espresso machine taking pride of place, points out Covington.

The ceilings and walls throughout the downstairs feature atmospheric beams hewn from reclaimed wood.

The living room is a favorite for the couple, where she loves reading and entertaining. There’s no TV to offer a distraction. At Christmas, the tree goes right into a front corner, just as envisioned, she says.

Heading upstairs, pastels, scalloped effects, and delicate floral Riley Sheehey wallpapers echoing French style dominate the girls’ rooms. Recently, the older girls began sharing a room, making way for the new arrival’s nursery.

“They won’t share rooms forever,” Covington says, given three upstairs bedrooms.

Dorsch jokes with his wife as they both digest what lies ahead with three children under age 6. Humor may just be their superpower, especially in navigating life beneath the glare of social media.

“He’s a great girl dad,” says Covington. “And I think God just meant him to be a girl dad.”

Dorsch smiles. He has learned to “lean into pink,” he says good-naturedly, pointing out his wife’s pink maxi dress, fetchingly belted above a baby bump.

Sometimes appearing in videos with his daughters, he plays to a sweet fish-out-of-water appeal — a father happily engulfed by his daughters’ femininity. He is deeply aware of the privilege of working at home during their childhoods, mindful of how fleeting these years are. He lost his own parents as a young adult.

He is also helping manage the sheer volume of business that social media has generated. And with that volume of business come numerous collaborations, which means receiving and reviewing products.

In preparation for that, the architect had considered the heavy influx of products coming into their home. Some of his best ideas are tucked out of view.

“Greg designed storage and what he calls my warehouse.” Here, Covington stows seasonal clothing and the surplus of autumn-themed items, often received as part of a brand partnership.

Dorsch points to their work with brands including Rufflebutts, Lululemon, Nordstrom, MacKenzie-Childs, Abercrombie & Fitch, Ballard Designs and Walmart Fashion.

“I was just telling Chris yesterday, that’s one of the things that I’ve been getting frustrated over lately, is just the accumulation of stuff. We have to constantly purge.” 

In The Parenting PATH, a nonprofit, she has found the perfect outlet for excess. Covington donates to Pinwheels, a thrift store that helps finance their programs.

Dorsch jumps in to add, “She’s being humble. She does a lot of work. She’s on the board of directors of Parenting PATH and has helped them for several years now.” 

He leads the way through custom-designed French doors opening into Covington’s study, where she often spends time working after hours.

Nearby, the primary bedroom suite features a similarly soft color palette.  It’s soothing, without jarring color or art. The fireplace, flanked by comfy chairs, is designed for a timeout with a book, sometimes with a child curled on their lap.

We are a family of readers, the couple stresses.

She favors using Kindle. Dorsch, who just completed 1984, prefers to hold a book in his hand.

“I’m one of those old souls, I guess,” he explains. “I have to physically turn a page.”

He credits his wife for the family’s reading ritual. “We finish the night reading to the girls, and our daughter — our oldest — is going to be going to kindergarten next year. All she wants to do is learn how to read, just because she sees Caitlin and me doing this.”

Covington enjoys the reading and research social media requires, especially when creating travel guides and itineraries.

The children have passports and have used them, benefiting from unusual travel experiences. A recent trip allowed 2-year-old Collins to try falconry. Covington stresses that it only sounds dangerous.

“This was part of a collaboration that we were doing with this hotel. I was standing right next to her,” she says. 

“But she had to wear that heavy glove — and she had the biggest smile on her face,” says a proud mother.

This fall, they will have lived in their new home for two years. Outside, the property has begun maturing as planned. The wisteria and roses will slowly climb walls in the European way, erasing signs of newness. It will slowly acquire the patina that inspired the design from the very start.

Outdoors, at the rear of the house, a classically simple pool and an outdoor kitchen surrounded by pea gravel keep with the low-key style they favor. Here, their girls have tea parties and make poolside videos, playfully lip-syncing to dialogue. Hydrangea, a Southern favorite, blooms.

“The roses are maturing,” she comments, taking stock of the back of the property. “So eventually, they are going to start growing all around the fence that we have there. But we are still in the very early stages of that growth.”

She, too, has weathered changes and growth, experiencing marriage, motherhood and, more recently, the sudden loss of her father, Roy Covington, in May.

Roses are a metaphor, too; with the roses come thorns, a necessary part of the beauty. Cognizant of this, she has developed a healthy relationship with her followers.

The couple considers how the media has changed, anticipating that changes will continue. Some of those will be liberating. One day, they will play a less visible role, Dorsch predicts.

Back inside, Winnie burrows deeply into a sofa cushion. A heavily pregnant Covington sinks beside her, pulling the sweet-natured dog closer for a snuggle. Together, they are comfortably cocooned in their piece of Provençal paradise, en famille.  OH

Making Lemonade

Good Graces Photography

(Instagram @goodgracesphoto)

Given all the internet noise, how did Caitlin Covington’s blog springboard from an impulse in 2011 to a social media phenomenon?

Drive, explains Covington’s husband, Chris Dorsch.

“I just recently started working more with Caitlin,” he says, “but seeing it firsthand, in this type of profession, she can never turn off — from the moment we are up till the moment we go to sleep. It is our business.”

And it is sometimes as demanding as a child, he explains. His wife unstintingly puts in the hours — both early mornings and late nights.

Timing was another factor. For an early adopter of blogging and a student of journalism, creating content came easily for Covington, who planned to enter magazine journalism. Her natural good looks, fashion sense and Southern charm didn’t hurt.

Fifteen years later, Wired magazine called Covington a blogging pioneer with “Disney princess beauty.” As fate would have it, her whole family, including mom Carla Covington (also a blogger), has Disneyesque good looks.

Now, age 35, she and Dorsch run a digital media business, Covington Media Group, Inc., with Covington frequently cited in The New York Times, Forbes, The New York Post, People and WWD.

In 2023, Covington ranked sixth among the top 100 influencers with 1.3 million Instagram followers. Such success is unusual; Business.com estimates that 48% of creator-earners typically make $15,000 or less.

Also that year, she was one of three influencers profiled in journalist Stephanie McNeal’s book, Swipe Up for More. 

Naturally, there have been potholes along the way.

In 2019, Covington, who loves all things autumn, went viral when another influencer reposted a photo of Covington with another blogger friend, captioned, “Hot Girl Summer is coming to an end, get ready for Christian Girl Autumn.” (The “hot girl” reference to a Megan Thee Stallion song made a playful jab at the two women as personifying entitled Christian girls.) 

She “hadn’t coined those terms,” as Dorsch points out. “Then she made lemonade out of lemons.” 

She took the ensuing backlash in stride, pointing out that the meme wasn’t even one of her own making. She decided to go all-in on the autumn themes.

Covington good-naturedly mugged, playing with the stereotypes: pumpkin-flavored everything, thickly knitted sweaters and apple harvests.

The Times Magazine reported on how deftly Covington pushed back — quipping she was a fan of pumpkin-flavored lattes. EntertainmentNow.com profiled her, noting her “amazing sense of humor.”

The lighthearted response was a masterstroke, serving to heighten her popularity. Since then, autumnal trips and outfits make “Christian girl autumn posts” both an annual staple and a fan favorite.

Dorsch weighs in. She excels in the art of civility. Her posts are always diplomatic.

Had she known how intertwined she would become with the blog name Southern Curls and Pearls, she might have chosen differently. She shrugs.

Nowadays, the public is never more engaged than when she features travel content. Fortunately, she enjoys doing research and creating itineraries. Travels sometimes include her mom, daughters, and their girls’ nanny, Alyssa Emmel. (Carla sometimes appears with her daughter and shoots some of her photographs.)

As for traveling solely for the joy of travel, Covington admits she cannot recall any such trips. 

That is the reality of audience engagement.

She faces the challenge of keeping up the need to entertain — she uses that phrase carefully — ever mindful that blogging is a hybrid form of infotainment.

When Emmel returns from picking up the girls from school, she makes sandwiches and mentions that her own mother is also an influencer.

The fresh-faced young woman joined them five years ago, having graduated from UNCG 10 years ago with a degree in early childhood education.

“She helps the engine run around here,” praises Dorsch.

At this writing, some of the blog posts are deeply personal, as she is on official baby watch. Followers are posting Covington baby names, offering suggestions.

Most are alliterative.

Dorsch smiles mysteriously, without saying whether they correctly guessed their top choice for the third baby’s name. “It’s amazing,” he adds. “Some are very good ideas.”

But, for now, until it’s Instagram official, they’re keeping it to themselves.

Concerts, Canoes, and Community

Concerts, Canoes, and Community ​

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Concerts, Canoes, and Community

Passion and perseverance after Saxapahaw’s storm of the century

By Danielle Rotella Guerrieri

Photographs by Bert VanderVeen

Last July, Tropical Storm Chantal wreaked havoc across central North Carolina, causing $500 million in storm damage. Perched above the Haw River’s east bank in a quiet corner of Alamance County, Saxapahaw was ground zero for some of the worst flooding and property damage in the state, with nearly 12 inches of rain falling in 24 hours. Since its revitalization in the late 1990s, the former mill village has been a hip and vibrant destination, drawing visitors with its rich history, Southern cuisine, bespoke artwork, specialty craft ales and bohemian counterculture. On a recent cloudy Thursday morning, my dad, Pete Rotella, and I decided to see how Saxapahaw was faring after the flood.

We start our visit chatting with the Saxapahaw Museum director, Jane Cairnes, and the man behind the town’s revitalization, entrepreneur John M. Jordan Sr., son of the late U.S. Senator B. Everett Jordan. Jordan and his sons, Mac and Carter, purchased many mill houses and the abandoned spinning mill and dye house in 1995, and renovated them into 75 apartments. They also turned the upper dye house into commercial space and a home for The Hawbridge School, a public charter school with an emphasis on community engagement, environmental stewardship and the arts. “We were competing with Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh real estate,” Jordan says. I had people living in 60 houses who needed a place to buy gas and bread, and I provided it.” Over the years, the sleepy little town evolved into a lively and progressive home for lovers of music, arts and the outdoors.

Just down the hill from the museum is the Saxapahaw General Store. After filling our bellies with a good ol’ Southern breakfast, we learn how owners Jeff Barney and Cameron Ratliff turned a modest gas station and country store into a community hub beginning in 2008. Look for gourmet grub with an emphasis on comfort food, a staggering selection of beer and wine, locally grown produce and area crafts. Thankfully, their establishment was not damaged by the storm. Just two days after Chantal passed, they announced on Instagram: “We have electricity, Wi-Fi, A/C, and our full menu available.”

Cup 22 is our next stop, an open, two-story space with black industrial railings and massive windows that welcomed neighbors and volunteers after the storm with bottomless coffees and free Wi-FI. Heather and Tom LaGarde own both the café and the adjacent Haw River Ballroom, one of North Carolina’s premier musical destinations. Known for hosting nationally and internationally renowned bands, the Ballroom has also held film screenings, workshops and private events since 2011, thanks to its large, 750 capacity that maintains an intimate vibe. Due to its location in the mill’s upper dye house, the Ballroom was left unscathed, making it an ideal hub for storm relief efforts. Saturday in Saxapahaw is another LaGarde creation, a family-friendly outdoor concert and farmers market held weekly from the first Saturday of May through late August from 6-8 pm. Held in a grassy hillside near the Ballroom, “Swan Buckets” and a Swan Venmo account collect donations that pay operating costs. The LaGardes were also instrumental in organizing widespread relief efforts last July.

Next door to the Ballroom is Haw River Farmhouse Ales, a quaint, eclectic pub with cozy outdoor seating, owned by Ben Woodward and Dawnya Bohager, who use locally grown ginger, barley, rye and other ingredients in their small-batch customer favorites, such as Odds & Ends IPA and Saxtoberfest.

Excited to explore Saxapahaw’s art scene, we walk to Riverside Collective, where we’re greeted by contemporary oil painter Katie Pape, one of the five female artists who opened the shared studio space in 2004. When the bike shop next door moved, Katie and her husband, Ian, opened an adjacent store, Saxy A GoGo. Inside, Saxy, a vintage shop, a nonalcoholic bar, a lounge and a recording studio are all connected, creating a funky, urban vibe. Along with their wide variety of art, Riverside Collective offers classes in weaving, watercolor and leatherwork, and a Monday Open Studio Night where fellow creatives can connect. (While their shops didn’t sustain flood damage, the Papes’ daughter’s preschool, Saxapahaw Village Kids, inside Saxapahaw United Methodist Church, was completely submerged. “One of my favorite stories from the flood was how Holly, the preschool’s pet chinchilla, was gallantly rescued by volunteers after the storm,” Katie says.)

With our new art carefully packaged, we mosey past more upper mill spots that dodged storm damage — Deipnon Studio, a custom tattoo shop, and The Hawbridge Lower School — before entering Leftbank Butchery. Owner Ross Flynn opened the whole-animal butchery in 2014 to provide a local outlet for area farmers who want to process and sell their meat, such as beef cows from Alamance County farms and chicken from Little Way Farm in Siler City. Before leaving, we look into Flynn’s Seam Butchery Class, which teaches ways to cut and use every part of an animal, and the Basics of Cooking Meat Workshop, an excellent way to learn techniques for braising, roasting and pan-frying cuts of beef.

With a pound of tienda chorizo in hand, we climb up a steep staircase before opening a ginormously heavy oak door to enter The Eddy Pub, a European-style gastropub serving farm-to-table food and known as “Saxapahaw’s Living Room.” With old steam valves as beer taps, a rustic wood ceiling set against expansive windows overlooking a patio and the Haw, the pub partners with local farms for their meat and vegetables and serves North Carolina-brewed beers and wines from smaller, family-owned vineyards. On the second level of the mill complex, the pub remained unscathed by the flooding. General manager and co-owner Paul Neubauer and his staff were some of the first to volunteer after the storm.

After bowls of hearty chicken chili with fresh sourdough bread, we walk up the road to StudioSax, a multicultural, creative café and vintage store opened last year by Deborah and Robert “Robo” Jones, the talented trombonist from the 90s jazzy, pop-rock band The Sex Police. Deborah proudly shares that it’s the only Black-owned storefront in Saxapahaw as she finishes setting up paints and brushes for the night’s dot-painting event. Jones then gives us a tour of the outside courtyard, which she explains was “completely filled up with water when it flooded.” Sand and dirt still line the cement courtyard, which adjoins a nearby hillside, where folks gather to hear live music and many come for sound baths, a meditative, immersive audio experience that induces relaxation.

As my dad and I leave Saxapahaw, we’re both struck by everyone’s love for the dynamic, free-spirited river community. There are still small, visible signs of Chantal’s passage, but those are nothing compared to the stories of generosity and the survival of a magical place that refuses to be washed away.  OH

Almost Heaven on Buffalo Lake

Almost Heaven on Buffalo Lake

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Almost Heaven on Buffalo Lake

Mike Fowle’s boats create a ripple effect on quiet waters

By Cynthia Adams

Photographs By John Gessner

The motor catches, a muted, whispery sound, as Mike Fowle casts his boat off from Dana Smith’s lakeside dock. “It uses the most cutting-edge battery technology on the market right now,” he says, watching our surprised faces. “Lithium phosphate.”

Three of us glide across Greensboro’s private Buffalo Lake in a modified version of the 1982 vintage Pelican skiff, aptly named Almost Heaven. 

Almost soundlessly.

Fowle grins. “That’s what you want.” 

On a perfect spring day on the water, the most impressive aspect is what you do not hear. You do not hear the unmistakable roar of a standard-issue outboard motor. In fact, even with my hushed voice hoarse from allergies, conversation flows easily as Fowle describes retrofitting this small cedar-and-mahogany craft (outfitted with an electric motor) for owner Dana Smith.

If you think EVs on the roadways are remarkably silent, try an EV-powered watercraft. Practically noiseless — plus, it does not chew up gas, spew oil or foul the water. And the motor seems up to the task as three adults skirt around the lake’s edge, as pleased as children. 

Fowle assures us the boat is sufficiently powered to carry four, smoothly cruising at the allowed 5 miles per hour.

An egret is unruffled when we slip past the shoreline, not even a wake betraying us.

With the tousled blond hair and energetic brio of a younger man, Fowle is now 44. He is a man who loves water, but is more often wending Greensboro roadways for UPS, as he has for the last 25 years.

But his spare time is devoted to twin passions: cars and boats. His latest score is a 1958 red Corvette convertible.

While delivering packages on his route, he affably notices which customers are into cars. Occasionally, he will return on his days off to take the lucky ones out for a spin in a vintage car. 

Since his teenage years, Fowle has tinkered. He repairs, paints and undertakes car and boat restoration projects in his free time. Fowle learned much of what he knows from his father and the family’s wood-finishing business, which manufactured varnishes and finishes. 

In 2020, he began Fowle Garage. The garage bursts with projects — a new boat he is working on awaits completion, and various car projects wait in the queue.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, he estimates having a day’s worth of tasks ahead. “I have — let’s see — there’s one, two, three, four, five, six, seven projects here,” he counts as he walks through the garage and grounds.

Fowle and Smith became acquainted through previous boat restorations, he notes, “when I worked at a wooden boat shop.”

Smith contacted Fowle to help him find an electric Pelican. He already knew what he would do with it. 

“He had bought this new house, sight unseen, with the idea that he was going to get one of these little boats and put a dock in.”

The house Smith had bought unseen? It was exactly where he wanted to be, Fowle explains. It was on a cul-de-sac at Ascot Point, with the advantage of having Buffalo Lake at its back door. “It gave him water access.”

By coincidence, Fowle knew about such a boat for sale — the exact model Smith was searching for — and it happened to need work. He connected the owner with Smith, who then worked out the sale. 

The thoroughly modernized vintage boat was ready to glide in April 2025.

But homeowners on the lake did not own land on the lake perimeter.

Enter Jess Washburn, who did.

Washburn made headlines in 2017 when he became co-owner of two Greensboro private lakes, Buffalo Lake and Lake Jeanette. (His own party pontoon was featured just last month in O.Henry.) The former, smaller lake, only 69 acres, had disallowed lake access. But the much larger Lake Jeanette, at 270 acres, allowed restricted boating access via the homeowner’s private marina. Both lakes had buffer zones; neither had historically allowed docks. 

One workday, Fowle took his lunch break at home when his meal was suddenly interrupted.

“I get a knock on my door. It’s Dana and this other gentleman named Jess Washburn.”

Washburn, who also lives on Buffalo Lake, was working with various homeowner associations around the lake regarding access for residents.

Traditional motorboats and Ski-Doos were strictly disallowed. The Pelican, an electric boat, had Washburn’s attention. He had wanted to put electric boats into service on the lakes from the start, given strict speed limitations and other homeowner association restrictions.

The two men told Fowle, “We want more of these boats to go on this lake because they’re quiet.”

Electric-powered boats were a logical answer to the puzzle posed in 2017 by John Hammer, former editor of Rhino Times, concerning the fate of Buffalo Lake and Lake Jeanette after their sale by textile concern ITG.

“What do you do with a couple of lakes, particularly since the land around them has largely been developed?” he asked in his publication.

An adapted version of the Pelican proved to be Washburn’s solution.

Fowle says the new version far exceeds the original. “The idea came from Dana’s boat. I retrofitted his boat with a keel and steering system, and the electronics for the motor.”

He further modified Smith’s boat, adding a foot in length and 4 inches in width, changing the shape. Originally, he says with a laugh, it “looked a bit like a kayak.” He added stability by redesigning the keel, devising a pocket for the propeller drive unit and adding a tiller steering mechanism. “Everything was handmade to steer the rudder.”

In the eight months since Almost Heaven was altered and put into service, Fowle and his team have created a fiberglass mold for a next-generation hull. They now have the capacity to reproduce a boat adapted from the 1982 original in a matter of days.

Once encased in wood and painted, the fiberglass boat appears to be a dead ringer for an original Pelican. It’s upscaled without sacrificing the good, traditional looks of a wooden boat now that Fowle has worked his magic. And fiberglass is not prone to leaks.

You would not know the difference visually, Fowle assures us. “This has all the appeal of a yacht in a super small package.”

Fowle’s passion doesn’t wane when it comes to refining restoration projects. At present, his grandfather’s 1931 Ford Model A pickup sits in his garage awaiting repairs. He says affectionately, “I basically got it running and learned to drive on it when I was 14 or 15.” 

Just for fun, he borrows his father’s 1930 Ford Model A De luxe Tudor, driving around town, honking the goose-like horn for appreciative motorists. The 1930s car earned its “deluxe” designation, with handsome detailing, tweed upholstery and upscale finishes, such as a custom-made wooden trunk on the rear. When he stops to dash into a grocery store for a Gatorade, admirers stroll over for a look and flash a thumbs up. Kept in mint condition and fully roadworthy, it recently made an appearance at a Gate City Rotary Club Great Gatsby-themed function.

Now, thanks to Fowle, Smith’s new-and-improved Pelican is proving relevant. 

And it appears to be a win-win for all parties, plus water and nature enthusiasts who are equally environmentally interested.

Invariably, bottles and trash end up in the bodies of water he owns. Washburn adopted a stretch of Elm Street near his lake, where he cleans litter.

Smith and his wife, Zell, keen nature lovers, are often found trolling Buffalo Lake, fishing out ugly debris to ferry away.

“They are creating a positive impact on the environment, carting away as much trash as they can manage,” says Fowle.

Almost Heaven, agile and maneuverable, makes cleanup fun for the citizen environmentalists. It weathers the winter just fine, says Fowle, allowing the Smiths to keep it docked behind their home. 

As residents and lake owners have worked through the approval process, more docks are reportedly pending on Buffalo Lake. Access remains carefully restricted to kayaking, paddleboats and quiet boats. Fowle anticipates a growing demand for more electric boats.

“Don’t you think that’s cool?” he asks, an enormous grin on his face. 

It’s Almost Heaven.  OH

Adventure Awaits

Adventures Await

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Adventures Await

A globe-trotting couple creates a child-centric house of fun

By Cassie Bustamante

Photographs by Betsy Blake

“Last week we got a phone call about a little girl,” says Ashlee Wagner, lounging on her plush living room sectional while her two daughters, 7-year-old Lowina and 4-year-old Lizzie, play nearby. Her husband, John, is busy helping Lowina find the Beyoncé song she’s looking for on her device.

Lizzie twirls in a Disney princess dress, lost in magical reverie, while Lowina’s ears perk up at her mother’s words. “Mom, are we getting a new sister?”

“Yes, baby,” answers Ashlee. Lowina cheers enthusiastically.

“You know how there are little girls who dream of getting married and getting pregnant?” Ashlee asks. “I was never that kid.” Her own father and his siblings were all adopted and she knew that, when it came time to start her own family, she wanted to adopt.

John, who owns his own State Farm Insurance Agency, jumps feet first and wholeheartedly into Ashlee’s plans. “I think I feed into her sometimes, and that’s probably why we’re so wild with everything going on in life,” he says. “But it’s fun.”

When the Wagners bought their traditional, brick house in 2017, they imagined filling the New Irving Park home with kids. “That was always the plan,” says Ashlee, who owns her own travel company, Just Another Wagner Adventure. Just as they kicked off their adoption journey, they got to work renovating — first, the first floor, followed by the pool and backyard, then the basement and, finally, upstairs. “We basically built this house to be our forever dream home,” muses Ashlee.

“I want to keep this house forever,” says Lowina, who officially became a Wagner just before she turned 3. With renovations underway in 2019, John and Ashlee initiated that first adoption, but what is already a lengthy process was stalled even more by the COVID pandemic. Finally, in January 2022, the couple headed to South Africa to bring home Lowina.

Of course, a few months before that trip, one that was to last about six months, life caught them by surprise. “I found out I was pregnant,” says Ashlee. When they finally returned to the States in the summer of 2022, they brought home both Lowina and her infant sister, Lizzie, who was also born in South Africa — a bond Ashlee is thrilled all three of her girls will share. And the place her soon-to-be-three girls will be lucky enough to grow up in together? Well, the Wagners are determined to turn it into an at-home adventure haven that would exceed any child’s wildest fantasies.

They started renovations with the living room and kitchen, which open to one another, adding white, shaker-style built-ins and revamping the fireplace with a simpler look that features a thick, rustic slab mantel. The small “U”-shaped kitchen was reconfigured to fit an island and banquette seating. “I always had that dream of, you know, you’re washing dishes and you look outside.” Over the banquette, a painting by artist Amira Rahim, aka “The Color Poet,” adds a vibrant splash to the otherwise neutral space.

The walls on the main level are coated in various shades of gray and filled with accessories and art from their travels all over the world, a passion that slowly turned into an avocation. (More about that later.) In the dining room, a grid of eight square photos glows with the oranges and yellows of global sunsets from various destinations. One photo that Ashlee took using a tripod shows the silhouette of John and Ashlee caught in a kiss, the sun’s orb illuminated behind her while hot air balloons in the distance fleck the sky.

Nearby in the den, long, wooden shelves line an entire wall. Ashlee points to various tchotchkes and lists the countries they’re from: “This is Egypt or Jordan. That is Tanzania. Lolo, where did we get this?” She asks her oldest. “Was this Mexico or Honduras?” Their souvenirs include a Day-of-the-Dead-inspired cat, a beer stein, artisan-made glass elephant bookends, a strand of beads featuring evil eyes. “We have evil eyes kind of hidden everywhere to keep the bad spirits out.”

When it’s time to go upstairs, the girls race ahead, shouting, “My room’s cooler!”

“My room first!” says Lowina. What color is it? “You’ll see when you get there.”

“Oh, Lowina,” Ashlee says with a laugh. “Silly girl!”

All of the bedrooms, including the primary, are painted in shades of blue or teal, with the girls each having pink accents. Lowina’s features a giant map of the world, a lace teepee, blush scalloped curtains, a muted-rose rug and a pair of twin beds adorned in — you guessed it — pink. Does Lizzie sometimes bunk with big sis? Nope, says Lowina, the other bed is where the family’s two cats sleep.

Though she’s younger, Lizzie’s bed is a queen. Her room, says Ashlee, used to have a tent bed and a “true safari theme.” But, as the family prepares for a longer stint of summer travel as well as another period in South Africa, she’s planning to rent the home short-term and is leaning into practicality. A large stuffed giraffe still stands in the corner and a circular, golden-yellow lion pillow rests on a hanging chair.

Just down the hall from their bedrooms, the girls share a bathroom and — wait for it — an indoor jungle gym. Ashlee and John have created a bunk room, where the twin-on-top and full-on-bottom beds have been built in. And, on another wall in that space, sits a large, wooden playset, complete with rings. “Come look at my trick,” cries Lizzie as she hangs upside down.

Lowina, not to be outdone by her little sister, performs a Little Mermaid-style hair swoosh move while Mom walks into her own bedroom, adjacent to the bunk room, which was originally part of the primary bedroom. Ashlee and John reconfigured the two rooms on that side of the house, creating the bunk room and adding a large walk-in closet with French sliders. On either side of their bed, Ashlee hung funky lanterns they found in Turkey and, on the front-facing wall, they added built-ins and a window seat. A hands-on couple, they did much of the work upstairs themselves and hired J&K Builders to do what they could not.

On the basement level of the home, where they continued working with J&K, yet another play gym keeps the girls busy. “Mommy, I’m going to slide!” Lizzie exclaims, landing in the middle of a ball pit as lightweight balls in aqua, red, lavender, pink and orange fly.

Nearby, a projector hangs from the ceiling, aimed at a blank, white wall standing in as a screen. “This is our movie area,” says Ashlee. Another comfy sofa provides the perfect space for a family snuggle sesh while they watch modern and classic Disney hits together. Lizzie opens a large trunk that serves as a coffee table. Inside, it’s filled to the brim with more princess dresses and costumes — time for an outfit change!

A kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom take up the rest of the basement space, plus a little bonus. “Yeah, I got a sauna,” says Ashlee. “I thought, why not?” Sometimes, Mom needs a quiet space to escape.

From the basement sliders, the girls are ready to run outside as dappled afternoon sunlight shadows the lawn. The backyard, just as she’d once dreamed, can be seen while Ashlee stands at her apron sink. There, she can watch the girls play in their treehouse, gaze at the peaceful surface of the pool or watch John and his sticks at work on the putting green.

Yes, a putting green. John’s a big golfer and, while he’s got his own bucket list of course destinations, he wanted to bring a bit of The Masters look to his own backyard. So, the couple dug in, adding an abundance of azaleas, mimicking the look of Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia. In fact, while they worked with Summit Landscaping Innovations alongside Guilford Pools on all hardscaping and the pool, John and Ashlee did all of the planting.

Tucked alongside the back fence, a modern-looking treehouse sits high, nestled among a few trees. Ashlee looked at some ideas on Pinterest and John ran with it, building his kiddos a dreamy, lofted playhouse. While a ladder will get you up, a tunneled slide is definitely the way down. A jungle gym extends to the treehouse’s left and, nearby, a disc swing gets plenty of use. “Mama, go fast!” shouts Lizzie as her mom pushes her.

“They like to go really high,” says Ashlee. After all, the sky is the limit. “I want to raise my kids to where they can go blow the world open if they want to.”  OH

Go Your Own Way

John and Ashlee Wagner met in the fall of 2008 as freshman at UNCG. “In Business 101 class, funny enough,” says Ashlee. John sat right behind her. Soon after meeting, the two began dating. But, midway through the first year, John decided to “retire from school” and returned home to Wilmington.

“John’s been a rebel his whole life,” quips Ashlee. “He likes to defy what the norm is.”

A year and a half later, Ashlee visited friends in Wilmington. “And somehow John pops back up and we’re dating the next week.”

In 2014, after Ashlee earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration, the Wagners tied the knot in Ocean Isle, honeymooned in Cancun and then, months later, took a bigger, second honeymoon in Ireland. That same year, Ashlee accepted a new role at an executive search company. Finally, John says, “Finances felt stable,” and the honeymooners found themselves bitten by the travel bug, booking two big trips a year.

“Each trip was three or four countries,” says John.

“And what’s crazy is,” says Ashlee, “I think we’ve only been to 40 countries.” OK, that’s a lot, she acknowledges with a laugh.

But, notes John, referencing a world map that graces their wall, a pin in each place they’ve visited, “There are still so many places we haven’t even touched.”

In 2022, once she was back at home with her daughters, Ashlee began contemplating what she wanted out of life. Now as a VP, she was working some 80 hours a week. Plus, she notes, being a woman in leadership in the South comes with its own set of challenges. She asked herself, “If my kids were in this environment, what advice would I give them?” The answer was clear: “My advice would be to quit and go do something you love.”

Friends and family had been telling her all along that she should think about pursuing a career in travel, but a voice in her head kept talking her out of it.

But now, with four —soon to be six — little female eyes on her, she says, “I decided I was just as worthy of that advice.”

Today, she runs her own company, works with John a bit and even manages some properties they have acquired over the years as well as some for local, woman-owned Nomad Vacation Rentals. With a flexible schedule, the family jet-sets all over the world and roadtrips all over the U.S. Plus, she’s got the freedom to now be the mom who goes on field trips or helps out in class. “I can do whatever I want,” she says, “and that has been very fulfilling.”

“That’s why I have my own business,” notes John, who says their Greensboro home is his eventual retirement plan — meaning, he’ll sell it in 20 years or so and travel the world, perhaps buy a new property, maybe in another country. Though Ashlee says they created it to be their forever home, her wheels are always turning, too. “My dream would be running a safari.”

“Tomorrow’s not promised,” he says. “You can always earn money tomorrow. Make the experiences right now.” Plus, he says, they were lucky enough as a young couple to purchase “all the toys I ever wanted,” silly things like drones that end up in a closet somewhere. “I’d much rather book the plane ticket.”

Last summer, the family of four, plus their two large dogs — their cats stayed behind — traveled much of the United States in a 20-foot camper. “Wild,” says Ashlee. Once again, this summer, they’re hitting the road for one more long-term adventure as a family of four. And soon, they’ll be headed back South Africa, returning to the States as a family of five.

Queen of the Flowers

xx

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Queen of the Flowers

For this gardener from Kazakhstan, roses reign supreme

By Ross Howell Jr.

Photographs by Lynn Donovan

Before Yelena Belyayeva and her husband, Randall Bean, moved to Greensboro from Trinity, she tended lilies in her garden.

But roses were always on her mind.

“I grew a lot of lilies — they were so easy!” she says with a laugh. “At that time, I would think, ‘Oh, the rose, queen of the flowers, she is too much effort.’”

“But, in gardening, I want people not to be afraid,” she continues, “because roses are not as hard as people think.”

Yelena grew up in Temirtau, a city on the steppe of central Kazakhstan — still part of the Soviet Union until she was a young woman.

“My father was Russian and my mother was Ukrainian,” Yelena says. Though they lived in an apartment, her mom “was very, very passionate about gardening.”

Outside the city, they had what is called a “summer house.”

Along with a vegetable garden and fruit trees, she remembers her mother growing irises, daisies, peonies, lilies, lilacs and snowbush. But the plains of Kazakhstan were harsh.

“My mom had a few roses, but we had to cover them,” Yelena says, noting that they didn’t fare well in the cold or snow.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t like the garden work as a kid,” she confesses, smiling, “but I enjoyed the beauty, not just of the flowers, but of everything in nature.”

After high school, she attended Moscow State Forest University, where she dreamed of becoming a forest ranger.

“I wanted to be among the animals and woods,” Yelena says.

Since no forestry positions were available when she graduated, she returned to her hometown to take a job with the Temirtau Winter Garden, a public botanical garden conservatory of tropical and subtropical plants in a very cold place.

“Most of the work was indoors, but it appealed to my passion,” Yelena says.

Eventually, a close friend in Kazakhstan who had met and married an American, suggested that she knew someone who would be a perfect match for Yelena — her husband’s best friend, Randall.

But communication between the two was a challenge.

“I studied English when I was in school but I was not so good,” she explains. “My teacher said, ‘Yelena, you will never learn English.’” She smiles and shakes her head.

“But Randall bought one of these portable electronic translators and that is how we corresponded at first,” Yelena continues.

Following a two-year courtship, the couple married in Kazakhstan and moved stateside to Trinity in 2006 with Yelena’s 10-year-old son. (He went on to attend N.C. State and lives in Raleigh now.)

When Randall’s father, who had been living in the same Greensboro house since 1955, decided to move into assisted living, Yelena and Randall relocated to his old residence.

The house sits on a lot that’s nearly an acre in size. Randall’s father grew vegetables for years after his wife passed away, though he had neglected the vestiges of her flower garden.

“Mama Sarah had azaleas, camellias and big boxwoods,” Yelena says.

She also found remnants of candytuft and a row of peonies that she estimates are around 40 years old. And, while Randall remembers his mother growing roses, none of them were still living when Yelena began tending the garden.

“So all 200 of the roses are mine!” she quips. “I have been collecting them for more than 10 years.”

Starting with the original flower beds, Yelena kept “extending, extending, extending” — and digging holes to plant her roses. The work was difficult because of the heavy clay soil and the big roots of old trees.

“Randall even bought an augur, but that did not work so well,” she says.

And for several years, she was working full time.

Now that she is retired and the garden is established, Yelena finds that she still spends at least six hours a day in the garden for 11 months of the year.

“With our seasons, there is no break for gardeners,” Yelena explains. “We just finished raking leaves from these huge oak trees in January and in February. I’m already planting my first roses again.”

She smiles.

“But I love it,” she muses.

Yelena prefers planting roses with bare roots. And while she put in her newest roses this February, she believes the best time planting time for Greensboro is the first week of March.

“You can find all kinds of information about when and how to do it,” she says.

A source Yelena especially recommends is Witherspoon Rose Culture in Durham (www.witherspoonrose.com).

“I have several roses from them,” she says. “They give you everything you need.”

For the first year after planting, Yelena concentrates on keeping the new rose well watered. Depending upon the type of rose, she may use a systemic treatment to help prevent disease.

The greatest potential cause of disease in our area?

“It’s the humidity,” Yelena responds.

To promote blooming, she will fertilize her roses two or three times during the growing season, though she doesn’t like putting fertilizer in the ground. She prefers fertilizers she can spray onto the foliage.

“It’s easier for me and the plants absorb it faster,” Yelena explains.

To counter Japanese beetles, destructive pests that usually appear in June to feast on rosebuds and flowers, she has discovered a commonsense solution.

“This is what I learned from an Instagram friend in Japan,” Yelena says. (The friend grows 1,500 varieties of roses in her garden!)

After the first wave of blossoms in May, Yelena pinches back the new buds as they appear for at least two weeks and closer to a full month.

“Every morning, I go out watering and I pinch the buds,” Yelena continues. “If you have five bushes, it’s not a big deal, but for me? Well, it’s a lot!”

So, when the Japanese beetles appear, their salad bar is closed, as it were. They move on for the most part, leaving Yelena with healthier roses. The downside is that a wave of blooms is lost, but she assures me she can still count on two or three more waves in a typical season.

I ask Yelena about which types — tea rose, grandiflora, floribunda, climbers, ramblers — seem to be best suited to her garden.

“You know, it’s more about, who is the father of the roses?” she replies. “Oh, what is the word?”

Yelena consults her phone to translate.

“The breeder!” she says, nodding happily. “Kordes in Germany is my favorite. They breed very healthy roses.”

As we walk about, Yelena shows me the abundance of plants in her garden.

“I have 80 peonies,” she says proudly.

I spot tulips, hydrangeas, creeping phlox, cone flowers, azaleas, hostas, zinnias, columbines and ferns. She shows me a robust vegetable garden along with cherry trees, crabapple trees and pawpaws.

“I don’t plant peaches anymore,” Yelena says. “We have so many squirrels, I just gave up.”

And, as you’d expect, there are roses everywhere, many cascading over trellises that Randall installed for her.

“This is a rambler called Peggy Martin,” Yelena says, pointing out an enormous rose bush. “She is absolutely gorgeous when she’s blooming.” The thornless rose variety is named after an avid gardener in Louisiana whose property stood under seawater for two weeks after Hurricane Katrina. The rambler was one of the few plants in her garden that lived.

“I guess because she is a survivor, she can grow crazy big!” Yelena says, laughing.

She points out two more roses that cascade from a trellis.

“This one is a climbing rose called White Lady Banks and you see next to her the yellow, also a climber.” I comment on the clusters of smaller flowers.

“Yes, the flowers are smaller than Peggy Martin,” she replies. “But the big difference between the ramblers and the climbers is that the climbers keep blooming all through the summer — the ramblers only bloom one time a season.”

But that one time? “It is spectacular!” Yelena adds.

She shows me how she prunes the ends of the roses to increase the cascading effect as they grow.

“There is a woman on Instagram from Italy,” Yelena continues. “She plants her climbers and ramblers close to her trees so they grow all the way over them!”

When I ask her if she has irrigation for the plants, she answers that it wouldn’t be economical to use city water, since she has so many roses and the beds are so spread out. Recently, she added three barrels to collect rainwater. She also carefully mulches her roses with pine bark nuggets to help them hold moisture. If the summer is very dry, she waters her roses by hand.

“But roses are hardy,” Yelena says. “You must choose the right variety from the right breeder, but once they are established, roses are very strong!”

“The beauty, the joy to see them and smell their flowers,” she muses. “Every year, I plant more and I think, ‘OK, it’s enough.’ But it’s never enough!”

Once again, Yelena smiles, surveying her garden.  OH

Ross Howell Jr. is a contributing writer.

You can follow Yelena Belyayeva on Facebook and on Instagram @belyayevayelena.

Poem June 2026

Poem June 2026

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A Swift Thought

A car engine rattling.

A busted radio preaching the end 

of the world. That soft, hazy sun racing 

behind the horizon, peaking only for the 

thought of crashing. The Earth’s breath, 

hot and fast, blowing the trickled sweat 

from my hairline to my forehead. A swished 

whiskey hits the adrenaline, causing 

a swerve left, then right. The radio speaks, 

“Blazing temperatures bring hysteria!” I turn it 

off without a care in the world and without a 

second to spare.

— Joi Floyd

Joi Floyd is the assistant editor of O.Henry magazine. Should you wish to contact her, just look for a woman writing under a tree — or email her at joi@ohenrymag.com.