Teens And Vaping: Should Parents Be Worried?

Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County. This particular column is part of a monthly series on drug abuse prevention and treatment.

Less than 4% of high school seniors reported daily tobacco smoking 2020, hardly a fifth of where that figure was 20 years ago. It is a downward trend representing one of the most successful public health campaigns ever waged. But it comes alongside another trend, one in which many experts see tobacco’s disturbing reflection — vaping.

Vaping refers to using an electronic (e-) cigarette or other device that may contain toxic chemicals and nicotine. A battery heats the solution, which is typically a kid-friendly flavoring, and users inhale the resulting “vapor,” which is an aerosol. It can also be used to inhale THC, the compound in marijuana that creates a high. Vaping is now extremely prevalent in teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2021, more than 2 million youth used e-cigarettes.

Teens who vape are more likely to use other substances, including marijuana, opioids, and alcohol (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018) and five times more likely to test positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Gaiha, Cheng, & Halpern-Flesher, 2020). In addition, as of February 2020, more than 2,800 cases of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury in the United States were reported to the CDC, with 68 confirmed deaths (Ellington et al., 2020)

Adolescents frequently have misperceptions about e-cigarettes. Studies report that most adolescents are familiar with e-cigarettes but are unaware of their health risks and perceive them to be safe (Rohde et al., 2018). For example, most e-cigarettes and vaping products contain nicotine. Teens do not realize that one cartridge, or pod, contains almost the same amount of nicotine as 1.5 packs of regular cigarettes.

The teenage brain is especially vulnerable to nicotine because developmental growth is incomplete, and exposure during this time can have lasting effects. Teens who use nicotine are at risk for lower cognitive function, shorter attention spans, increased impulsivity, depression, and anxiety.

So, why are vapes so controversial? If they are so bad for our youth, then why not just ban them? The answer lies in the materials that start out in the vaping device, which aren’t initially considered harmful. Once you cook these materials however, a chemical transformation occurs. The result is a mix of potentially toxic chemicals including aldehydes, like formaldehyde, which are extremely toxic to the lungs and body. Researchers estimate that there can be as many as 50 new chemicals produced during vaping. Due to the novelty of vaping, some chemicals have yet to be identified.

In the next part of this series on vaping, we will discuss why vaping is so appealing to teens and how parents can help prevent their children from vaping. This is part of the familiar program “Talk. They Hear You,” which helps parents learn to talk to their kids about substance use on a continuous basis. If you, or someone you know, would benefit from learning more about the dangers of vaping, please contact Charlotte Reeves, Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery Community Outreach Coordinator, at reevesc@co.surry.nc.us. Visit our website at surrycountycares.com for more information about substance use disorder and the many resources in our County.

Charlotte Reeves is the Community Outreach Coordinator for Surry County Substance Abuse Recovery Office. She may be reached at 336-401-8218 or reevesc@co.surry.nc.us.

Central sweeps West Stokes, moves to 4-0

Kapps Mill to host Christmas event

Living ornaments in trees deck the lawn

The trees around the lawn may be bare in December, but you can adorn them with lots of color and activity. All you have to do is keep the feeders filled with bird seed and keep plenty of fresh water in the bird baths. Empty the ice each morning from the baths and refill with fresh water when temperatures rise above freezing. You can attract colorful birds such as cardinals, junkos, blue jays, chickadees, mocking birds and sparrows. You may even attract a few bluebirds and visiting crows. Keep feeders and baths filled each day and you can enjoy living ornaments on bare limbs celebrating the season of Christmas.

Candy orange slices an old-fashioned favorite

Orange candy slices are a favorite old-fashioned gummy treat that have been around for well over 100 years. Most of them sold today are individually wrapped and sold from wooden kegs in country stores in clear plastic wrap or plastic pound bags. They still have that distinctive orange flavor and you can usually find them all during the year but especially at Christmas. Today, you can find not only orange slices but flavors of lemon, cherry and lime slices.

Making old-fashioned orange slice pound cake

This cake recipe is a taste of old-fashioned orange slice goodness. It has a lot of ingredients but it is a great tasting cake with plenty of flavor. To prepare this cake, you will need two sticks of light margarine, two cups of sugar, four large eggs, one cup of golden seedless raisins, one cup chopped pecans, one pound of candy orange slices (cut into very tiny pieces), three and half cups plain flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, half cup buttermilk, one teaspoon orange extract, two cups 10x powdered sugar, one can flaked coconut and one cup of orange juice. Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and set aside. Dredge golden raisins, chopped pecans and orange slice pieces in one cup of plain flour. Dissolve the baking powder in the buttermilk. Mix the other two and a half cups of flour, and all the other ingredients except the orange juice and powdered sugar. Grease and flour a tube pan and then line bottom of pan with a layer of waxed paper and grease and flour the waxed paper. Make sure sides of pan and tube are well-greased and floured. Bake at 300 degrees for two hours or until cake springs back when touched. Cool for at least 45 minutes and remove from the pan. Mix the cup of orange juice and two cups of powdered sugar and pour over the cake. Let cake stand in a covered cake container over night. It will yield twenty servings. Decorate with candy orange slices.

The old-fashioned sticky taste of peanut brittle

Peanut brittle has the taste of an old-fashioned Christmas. We remember our Aunt Florence making this concoction as a treat at Christmas when were were kids. She made hers with eastern North Carolina parched peanuts. She gathered them from fields after the harvest. After the harvest, lose peanuts would be lying all over the fields and farmers would allow neighbors to help themselves to them. Aunt Florence used Karo corn syrup and a double portion of parched peanuts in her brittle. Commercial peanut brittle in the 1950s was also very sticky. There is an improvement in 21st century peanut brittle because it has a corn starch coating and is not sticky but crisp. Some of today’s best is produced in Norfolk, Virginia by Old Dominion peanut company. Virginia is one of America’s largest peanut growers along with Georgia. Suffolk, Virginia has a large peanut storage facility for Planter’s Peanuts. Today’s peanut brittle is melt-in-your-mouth, addictive and still a Christmas tradition.

Making a batch of Christmas peanut brittle

Peanut brittle is simple and easy to prepare with only a few ingredients. For this recipe, you can use Planter’s canned peanuts or a bag of raw peanuts parched in the oven in their shells. You will need one cup sugar, one cup peanuts, half cup dark Karo corn syrup, half cup water, one teaspoon of real vanilla extract, one teaspoon baking soda. Combine all ingredients except the baking soda in a pot or sauce pan and cook on medium heat for two minutes, stirring to prevent it from sticking. Add the baking soda and stir well. Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Cool and then break into pieces. Place in a tin, or covered container. Dust with a sprinkle of corn starch to avoid sticky on brittle.

Daddy’s gift of Christmas pocket knives

From my early boyhood days my daddy would always buy me a pocket knife for Christmas each year and it became a tradition. After graduating from high school and later moving to Winston-Salem, he continued that tradition of giving a pocket knife each Christmas because he knew I used them at work. Every year, before Christmas he would go over the state line to Emporia, Virginia, to an old fashioned hardware and find just the right knife. As the years went by I wore out many of these knives. In 1989 he bought his last knife for me. It was a Case three blader. Dad died in 1990, and I still have that knife as a precious memory. Daddy’s gifts of useful gifts of pocket knives and a father’s love.

Searching for real spirit of Santa Claus

This is a real life event as told by a beloved neighbor named Marye who passed away in 2004. She told me of this special event in the years before she died. See if you believe in the spirit of Santa Claus after reading her story.

This event in Marye’s life occurred when she was raising four children on her own. It was Christmas Eve. She had finished her work and cashed her paycheck, bought groceries, paid her bills, and bought what Christmas she could for her kids as much as she could afford. Early on Christmas Eve, she explained to her children and hoped they understood — she told them she wished she could provide more toys then Santa was going to bring next morning. She told them that she loved them, and that she had done the very best she could, because she really desired better for her children.

At 11:30 p.m., there was a knock on the door. She wondered who it could be knocking at that time of night, and especially on Christmas Eve. She went to the door and peeped to see who it was. She was shocked to see a man in a Santa suit with several boxes and bags scattered around him. As she opened the door, the man did not introduce himself, but said to her, “I know you’re having it rough trying to raise four kids. I felt led to do something to make Christmas merry for all of them.” He shook her hand, wished them a Merry Christmas and walked off into the night.

Marye took all the bags and boxes inside. The boxes and bags contained the very items she had wanted to buy for her children. Who was this man? We believe as Marye said in telling of this event, which is one of my favorite Christmas stories, that she believed he was the spirit of Christmas, a guardian angel so to speak, that came to answer the need of a loving and caring mother with a serious need at Christmas. Ah, yes, Angels-God’s messengers. They come on to the scene, entertain us unawares, and without much fanfare, and then they disappear into the night, leaving us to ponder their visitation. Marye is now in the presence of these heavenly messengers and yes, now she knows the one who came as “Santa” more than 60 years ago Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning in Northampton County

We always spent Christmas Eve at home and Christmas morning after Santa came, we would spend Christmas Day at grandma’s house in Northampton County. Here are a few Christmas treasures we remember about Christmas morning in Northampton County. 1) Collard greens that were cooked in an iron wash-pot seasoned with country ham. 2) Red Ryder air rifles. 3) Cap pistols with rolls of caps that would be powerful enough to sting your arms. 4) Real candles lighting a room. 5) Pallets full of cousins filling the floor. 6) Presents under a fresh cut cedar tree. 7) Grandma watching grandkids open presents she had bought at the five and dime store. 8) Presents that were wrapped and had Christmas seals on them and no fancy bows or wraps but tissue wrap in the colors of red, green, white and blue. They were wrapped just as they came from the store with no boxes or bows. But oh how beautiful they all looked pilled under that red heart cedar. As we move through the journey of life, we discover it is the simple things we remember and treasure most of all.

Merry Christmas to all our readers

We wish all of our Garden Plot readers of The Mount Airy News, The Yadkin Ripple and The Stokes News a very wonderful and Merry Christmas filled with love, joy and peace. It is our pleasure to write the column each week and share it with all of you. We thank these newspapers for publishing the column each week plus all of you who read it and we send our best to you.

Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

The Angel said he not only brought them good tidings but tidings of great joy. We read this scripture every Christmas and what joy do we have? At Thanksgiving what are we thankful for? I believe we should be thankful year round for Christmas and what God has done for us.

What is Christmas to you? Is it one time of year that you can feel warm and fussy inside about giving someone something? Is Christmas a time that we have turned into a ritual of doing the same thing, eating, sharing gifts with family and friends that we can’t afford to buy and the gifts we buy the receiver doesn’t need? Do we feel guilty if we don’t buy our children what they want and their wants become bigger each year? Where does it end? Don’t know if there will be an end but, the cost will come to reality soon after New Year’s when the bills come in.

You might be thinking right now, “well, Ronnie must be an old scrooge.” No, I’m not. I have some great memories of Christmas when I was growing up with a loving Mom and Dad. Also have great Christmas memories of Brenda and I with Keith and Kevin when they were growing up. But, can anyone reading this confess that Christmas has always been centered on what God has done for us? Has it always been celebrated in the gift God gave to mankind?

I wonder what Christmas means to a mother who has lost her husband who must take care of three or four children, working every day, never quite getting everything done, never making ends meet? What does Christmas mean to her? I wonder what Christmas means to a family in a foreign land that just heard about Jesus by a missionary? They are barely surviving and know nothing of shopping malls or Christmas trees. What does Christmas mean to them? I wonder what it means to missionaries who have spent their whole lives away from families and friends, who are sacrificing so much to take the gospel message to others who have never heard it? What does Christmas mean to them?

Sometimes I get the feeling that we are like the folks who decided to throw a party to honor a special friend. They sent out invitations, decorated the hall and had the food catered. All the people came together on time but to their surprise, the guest of honor was not there. Finally, they made the embarrassing discovery that no one had ever invited the guest of honor.

I wonder if that happens at Christmas time. Do we go through all the decorating and buying presents and preparing elaborate meals but somehow forgot to invite the guest of honor? Jesus is the reason for the season. It’s God’s gift to mankind. So we should say Glory to God in the highest.

It’s all about John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Have you ask Christ into your life? There is no greater gift, no greater joy in knowing for sure that you will spend eternity with the Lord Jesus and have the forgiveness of sins. Do it today because tomorrow could be too late. Hebrew 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

From Brenda and I, we pray that you and your family have a safe and Christ filled Christmas.

The North Carolina Board of Elections on Monday ordered a new election be held in the Dobson Board of Commissioners race.

This ruling is, in many ways, unfair to J. Wayne Atkins and Walter White, two incumbents who seemingly won their re-election bids for two seats on the Dobson Board of Commissioner on Nov. 8. These two men ran an honest and open campaign, seeking the opportunity to continue their public service to the residents and businesses of Dobson. The voting totals from the Nov. 8 election show they finished with the most votes, Atkins totalling 184, while White recorded 167. John Jonczak finished third with 159 votes, and Sharon Gates-Hodges received 106. There were also three write-in candidates.

However unfair, it is still the correct ruling, and the only ruling that could ensure the rule of law, and the principles of fair and honest democracy, the integrity of the ballot box, all are preserved in the local election.

Election integrity has been at the heart of public debate in recent years. Much of that debate has been needless, the result of sore losers, bullies, and quite frankly people who are little more than anarchists wishing to throw the nation’s democratic ideals in the garbage bin. We’ve all grown tired of the outlandish claims of the tin-hat brigade — increasingly shrill voices screaming nonsense about fake votes, lost votes, hacked voting machines and the like.

What happened in Dobson is entirely different. A poll worker gave out improper, and possibly inaccurate, information in the commissioners race. On the day of the election, one local voter witnessed a poll worker telling voters in front of him that a candidate listed on the ballot had died.

While it is true — Gates-Hodges died just a few days before the election — the rules are clear, poll workers are not to disseminate any information about the candidates.

More disturbing, the man who filed one of two complaints — Jimmy Yokeley — said the same poll worker specifically told him that Jonczak was the candidate who had died.

That led Yokeley to file a complaint against the worker, as did Jonczak. Another voter who did not file a complaint still submitted a sworn affidavit that she, too, had been told by this poll worker a candidate had died, though the worker said it was Gates-Hodges who had passed away. Again, while the facts the worker related in this instance were correct, she still violated election rules by giving out the information.

Records presented during Monday’s state Board of Elections hearing indicated that worker was at the polling location all day on election day — we have no idea how many votes she may have tainted by telling people a candidate had died, by possible telling them Jonczak had died. She may very well have cost him a seat on the board.

Throughout the entire process since election day Jonczak has handled the situation professionally and respectfully. He has praised local Board of Elections Director Michella Huff, for not only how she handled the entire election season, but specifically how she has handled the questions about the election worker. Jonczak has even gone so far as to say he is certain there was no malicious intent on the part of the poll worker — just a mistake by someone with well-meaning intent.

In the initial days after the poll worker’s misconduct came to light, he was even quick to say he was not necessarily seeking a new election, he just wanted to make sure this sort of misconduct did not happen again, and that the will of Dobson voters ultimately is what determines who serves on the board.

We agree with his sentiments — the integrity of the voting process must be the first and foremost consideration. The only way to ensure the will of the voters is respected is to order a new election. That is what the state board did Monday. Now, we hope the three candidates will focus on the issues facing the town, run another clean, open campaign, and all three will work for the betterment of Dobson now and after the election, regardless of who is eventually seated on the board.

The season of Christmas time is drawing near and Christmas Eve is only a little more than a week away. The approaching days before Christmas are always filled with excitement and expectations as we look forward to all the events that lead up to Christmas. It is our hope that the season of Christmas will always be near and dear to all of you and be filled with memories of love, joy and peace!

Two of winters longest nights

Two of the longest nights of the year will be with us in only a few days from now. On Wednesday, Dec. 21, we will experience the longest night of the year as winter begins. One bright spot of winter’s longest night is that for the next six months after this night, we will enjoy one minute of extra day light each evening. The second of longest nights in the minds of children occurs on the night of Christmas Eve which is Saturday, Dec. 24. To excited children and also many parents excited we can understand why this would be the longest night of the year!

Legend of the Christmas apple

Apples have always been a part of Christmas treats and also of Christmas desserts and decorations. In Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, they decorate mantels, tables, and windows with apples and other fruits. Apples grow in almost every state in America. Their long shelf life paves the way for them to be an important part of many Christmas traditions and customs. One apple tradition says that if you check the apple tree on Christmas Day and the sun shines through its branches, the harvest of next season will be abundant.

Red Delicious apples make Santa decorations

Red Delicious apples are as red as Santa’s suit and here is how to make a Red Delicious “Santa” centerpiece for the coffee table or to give to kids and grandkids. For each Santa, you will need one Red Delicious apple, a bag of cotton candy which is available at must supermarkets, a pack of roley poley craft eyes, small Santa hats and orange and red M&Ms. Glue the eyes on the apple, glue a red M&M for the mouth and an orange M&M for the nose Use cotton candy or real cotton to form a nose, beard and moustache and for around middle of the apple. Make a hat with a piece of red felt or purchase a small Santa hat at a craft shop. Place the Santa in a foil pie pan. Circle it with greenery and several small candy canes and Christmas Hershey’s kisses.

Making a colorful Christmas Waldorf salad

Apples and Waldorf salad go together like peaches and cream. The apples that add tartness to Waldorf salad are McIntosh apples peeled and cut into half-inch cubes stirred into two teaspoons of lemon juice and three teaspoons of sugar. Add one jar of drained red maraschino cherries and one jar of green maraschino cherries, cut the cherries into halves, one can Bartlett pears cut into cubes, one can mixed fruits, one can fruit cocktail, drained. Mix all fruits together and add one three ounce box of Jello instant vanilla pudding mix, one teaspoon vanilla extract, one teaspoon apple pie spices, one tub of Cool Whip and fold into the fruit mixture. Keep refrigerated.

A journey back to the old general store

The outside parking in front of the store was not paved or covered with gravel but completely covered with pop bottle caps. We remember the ordeal of walking on them with bare feet in the summer months. This type of store is a vanishing breed but still survives today if you search a bit to discover them. We are fortunate to have some in our area including Main Street Mount Airy, Virginia Produce in Cana, Virginia, Mast General Store on Trade Street in Winston-Salem and Ronnie’s Country Store on Cherry Street in Winston-Salem, and John Brown’s Country Store in King. All these vintage stores feature many special Christmas treats at Christmas with old fashioned candies, fruit cakes, hams, special items available to stir up Christmas cravings.

Searching for the spirit of Santa Clause

While growing up in eastern North Carolina in the 1950s, many events at Christmastime centered around a small Baptist Church. We took part in kids’ Christmas plays and Sunday School parties and get-togethers. The highlight of the Christmas celebration was on the Sunday night before Christmas when the Adult Christmas pageant was presented. As a “grand finale,” Santa would appear and pass out treat bags of goodies to kids and adults. The Men’s Brotherhood was always responsible for seeing to it that Santa was there.

On this event, the would-be Santa had the flu. This presented a huge problem for the Men’s Brotherhood and they turned to my father for a solution. Dad pondered the situation, and my mother suggested that he ask uncle Jesse if he would be “Santa” for us. Uncle Jesse consented to be our “Santa.” Uncle Jesse loved kids but he had no kids of his own. Uncle Jesse was not a member of our church. At that time, he was known take a little “toddy for the body.” On the night of the pageant, he was red-faced and jolly so he made a great Santa.

The other Baptist down the street was also having their Christmas event. Uncle Jesse dressed in his Santa suit and was driving his 1953 Plymouth down by the other church, windows down and shouting, “Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas.” That congregation thought he was their Santa, but he drove right on by still shouting “Merry Christmas Ho, Ho.”

Uncle Jesse (Santa) arrived at the church and walked in with the same “Ho Ho, Ho.” All the kids thought, “Surely he’s the real Santa we’ve never heard that voice before!” If they had gotten a little closer, they would have smelled Christmas “toddy” and a “nip” in the Christmas air. “Santa” passed out treat bags and left the church with several “Ho, Ho, Hos.” Uncle Jesse died at Christmas time in 1988. Inside his hospital room was a small decorated Christmas tree placed there by my mother.

Christmas tree memories: The perfect tree

Picking just the right Christmas tree was always an important task each year. As my brothers and I grow up in eastern North Carolina, we romped and fished along the Roanoke River. After Halloween, our thoughts turned toward Christmas. We would search the paths and trails along the river and seek out what we thought was the perfect tree. After a long and exhaustive search, we found a beautiful red-heart cedar. We marked it so we would know its location. When the time came to cut it in mid-December, we cut the tree and brought it home. It was definitely not perfect, because we discovered it had two tops on it. My mother knew just what to do to solve the problem, she took a roll of black tape and rolled it around the twin tops and placed a star in the tree to top it off.

Candles part of Christmas decor

At grandma’s backwoods home in Northampton County, there was no electricity, no running water or indoor plumbing. At Christmas time the house had the smell of candles, oil lamps and burning wood. The house glowed with light from oil lamps and candles in every room. The Christmas tree glowed, not with lights but but with holly with red berries, mistletoe with white berries, strings of popcorn, popcorn balls, long leaf pine cones, running cedar and paper chains. Candles glowed in the living room, but strangely enough no candles were on the kitchen table. We always thought it was because there would be so many relatives around the table, the lighted candles would always be a hazard. For memories of an old-fashioned Christmas, we like to light a few candles, especially votive candles and enjoy the glow and smell from them.

At Christmas, our uncles at grandma’s house would always make a bucket of egg nog on Christmas Day. They used fresh eggs from grandma’s hen house. The finished product was always golden yellow as a result of the fresh eggs. They had their own special recipe that included two and a half dozen beaten eggs, one and a half gallons of milk, four cups of sugar, three teaspoons of real vanilla, two teaspoons of nutmeg, two teaspoons of cinnamon, one teaspoon of cloves and four teaspoons of rum flavoring. The uncles always used plenty of real rum!

Christmas hard mix triggers childhood memories

One of the great memories of Christmas past and present is the Christmas hard and filled mixes of fruity, spicy and peppermint, spearmint and wintergreen. Each piece tastes like Christmas of long ago. Brach’s still produces this special treat every Christmas. This special mix can be purchased at many country stores and produce markets in our area. It is there and displayed in five gallon wooden kegs that you can scoop out and bag yourself.

The season of Christmastime is getting closer

The season of Christmas time is drawing very near and Christmas Eve is only a little more than a week away. The approaching days before Christmas are always filled with excitement and expectations as we look forward to all the events that lead up to Christmas. It is our hope that the season of Christmas will always be near and dear to all of you and be filled with memories of love, joy and peace!

Two of winters longest nights of the year

Two of the longest nights of the year will be with us in only a few days from now. On Wednesday, Dec. 21, we will experience the longest night of the year as winter begins. One bright spot of winter’s longest night is that for the next six months after this night, we will enjoy one minute of extra day light each evening. The second of longest nights in the minds of children occurs on the night of Christmas Eve which is Saturday, Dec. 24. To excited children, and also many parents, we can understand why this would be the longest night of the year!

Checking out legend of the Christmas apple

Apples have always been a part of Christmas treats and also of Christmas desserts and decorations. In Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, they decorate mantels, tables, and windows with apples and other fruits. Apples grow in almost every state in America. Their long shelf life paves the way for them to be an important part of many Christmas traditions and customs. One apple tradition says that if you check the apple tree on Christmas Day and the sun shines through it’s branches, the harvest of next season will be abundant.

Red Delicious apples make Santa decorations

Red Delicious apples are as red as Santa’s suit and here is how to make a Red Delicious “Santa” centerpiece for the coffee table or to give to kids and grand kids. For each Santa, you will need one Red Delicious apple, a bag of cotton candy which is available at must supermarkets, a pack of roley poley craft eyes, small Santa hats and orange and red M&M’s. Glue the eyes on the apple, glue a red M&M for the mouth and an orange M&M for the nose. Use cotton candy or real cotton to form a nose, beard and moustache and for around the middle of the apple. Make a hat with a piece of red felt or purchase small Santa hat at a craft shop. Place the Santa in a foil pie pan. Circle it with greenery and several small candy canes and Christmas Hershey’s kisses.

Making a colorful Christmas Waldorf salad

Apples and Waldorf salad go together like peaches and cream. The apples that add tartness to Waldorf salad are McIntosh apples peeled and cubed into half inch cubes stirred into two teaspoons of lemon juice and three teaspoons of sugar. Add one jar of drained red maraschino cherries and one jar of green maraschino cherries, cut the cherries into halves, one can Bartlett pears cut into cubes, one can mixed fruits, one can fruit cocktail, drained. Mix all fruits together and add one three ounce box of Jello instant vanilla pudding mix, one teaspoon vanilla extract, one teaspoon apple pie spices, one tub of Cool Whip and fold into the fruit mixture. Keep refrigerated.

A journey back to the old general store

On the top of the hill from grandma’s Northampton County house, there was a general store that had a post office with a row of mailboxes in it and a fish market that was open all day each Friday. Fish and oysters were delivered fresh from the coast. One person cleaned the fish as they were ordered, wrapped them in sheets of newspapers and placed them in a bag. Collard greens, sweet potatoes and other produce were displayed outside the store. Fresh eggs, country hams, side meat, fatback meat, bacon slabs and fresh cut meats. There were cloth bags of flour and cornmeal in twenty five pound bags. A soda pop cooler featured bottles of soda for a nickel. A candy counter was there with a large selection to choose from. The outside parking in front of the store was not paved or covered with gravel but completely covered with pop bottle caps. We remember the ordeal of walking on them with bare feet in the summer months. This type of store is a vanishing breed but still survives today if you search a bit to discover them. We are fortunate to have some in our area including Main Street Mount Airy, Virginia Produce in Cana, Virginia, Mast General Store on Trade Street in Winston-Salem and Ronnie’s Country Store on Cherry Street in Winston-Salem. John Brown’s Country Store in King. All these vintage stores feature many special Christmas treats at Christmas with old fashioned candies, fruit cakes, hams, special items available to stir up Christmas cravings.

Searching for the spirit of Santa Clause

While growing up in eastern North Carolina in the 1950’s, many events at Christmastime centered around a small Baptist Church. We took part in kids Christmas plays and Sunday School parties and get-togethers. The highlight of the Christmas celebration was on the Sunday night before Christmas when the Adult Christmas pageant was presented. As a “grand finale”, Santa would appear and pass out treat bags of goodies to kids and adults. The Men’s Brotherhood was always responsible for seeing to it that Santa was there. On this event, the would be Santa had the flu. This presented a huge problem for the Men’s Brotherhood and they turned to my father for a solution. Dad pondered the situation, and my mother suggested that he ask uncle Jesse if he would be “Santa” for us. Uncle Jesse consented to be our “Santa”. Uncle Jesse loved kids but he had no kids of his own. Uncle Jesse was not a member of our church. At that time, he was known take a little “toddy for the body.” On the night of the pageant, he was red-faced and jolly so he made a great Santa. The other Baptist down the street was also having their Christmas event. Uncle Jesse dressed in his Santa suit and was driving his 1953 Plymouth down by the other church, windows down and shouting. “Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas.” That congregation thought he was their Santa, but he drove right on by still shouting “Merry Christmas Ho, Ho.” Uncle Jesse (Santa) arrived at the church and walked in with the same “Ho Ho, Ho.” All the kids thought, “Surely he’s the real Santa we’ve never heard that voice before!” If they had gotten a little closer, they would have smelled Christmas “toddy” and a “nip” in the Christmas air. “Santa” passed out treat bags and left the church with several” Ho, Ho, Ho’s.” Uncle Jesse died at Christmas time in 1988. Inside his hospital room was a small decorated Christmas tree placed there by my mother.

Christmas tree memories: The perfect tree

Picking just the right Christmas tree was always an important task each year. As my brothers and I grow up in eastern North Carolina. We romped and fished along the Roanoke River! After Halloween, our thoughts turned toward Christmas. We would search the paths and trails along the river and seek out what we thought was the perfect tree. After a long and exhaustive search, we found a beautiful red-heart cedar. We marked it so we would know its location. When the time came to cut it in mid-December, we cut the tree and brought it home. It was definitely not perfect, because we discovered it had two tops on it. My mother knew just what to do to solve the problem, she took a roll of black tape and rolled it around the twin tops and placed a star in the tree to top it off.

Candles are a huge part of Christmas decor

At grandma’s backwoods home in Northampton County, there was no electricity, no running water or indoor plumbing. At Christmastime the house had the smell of candles, oil lamps and burning wood. The house glowed with light from oil lamps and candles in every room. The Christmas tree glowed, not with lights but but with holly with red berries, mistletoe with white berries, strings of popcorn, popcorn balls, long leaf pine cones, running cedar and paper chains. Candles glowed in the living room, but strangely enough no candles were on the kitchen table. We always thought it was because there would be so many relatives around the table, the lighted candles would always be a hazard. For memories of an old-fashioned Christmas, we like to light a few candles, especially votive candles and enjoy the glow and smell from them.

Making country egg nog at Christmastime

At Christmas, our uncles at grandmas house would always make a bucket of egg nog on Christmas Day. They used fresh eggs from grandmas hen house. The finished product was always golden yellow as a result of the fresh eggs. They had their own special recipe that included two and a half dozen beaten eggs, one and a half gallons of milk, four cups of sugar, three teaspoons of real vanilla, two teaspoons of nutmeg, two teaspoons of cinnamon, one teaspoon of cloves and four teaspoons of rum flavoring. The uncles always used plenty of real rum!

Christmas hard mix triggers childhood memories

It’s that time of year again to buy a tree, blow the dust off the Christmas lights, and hang the stockings with care and all the other necessary stuff; listen to your kids tell you what they want Santa to bring them although you trip over every toy you might think of when you get home from work; and for going to the in-laws, company parties and don’t forget Grandma’s house.

I heard a story about a woman who was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before. Her arms were full of bulky packages when the elevator door opened full of shoppers. The people in the elevator tightened up to allow a small space for her and her load.

As the doors closed she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!” A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement. Then from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a soft single voice that said, “Don’t worry. They already crucified Him.”

We need to remember who is responsible for Christmas. 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Propitiation means satisfaction. Because God is a holy God, His anger and justice burns against sin. And He has sworn that sin will be punished. There must be a satisfactory payment for sin. But God said in a sense, if I punish man for his sin, man will die and go to Hell. On the other hand, if I don’t punish man for his sin, my justice will never be satisfied. So God, became our substitute. He would take the sin of mankind upon Himself in the agony and blood of the cross, a righteous judgment and substitute for sin.

It’s our Lord who is responsible for giving eternal life to those that believe. It’s our Lord Jesus who is responsible for giving us mercy instead of death because He loves us. It’s our responsibility to praise Him, thank Him no matter how busy we get at Christmas or any other time.

There is always that question that separates Christians from non-Christians no matter what time of the year is. Would you consider yourself to be a good person? Non-Christians would say “yes” because they are basically good they will get into heaven. Evolution teaches that mankind is basically good and as we develop we continue to improve and become better people. Liberal “Christianity” teaches the social gospel, that through our own good efforts we can make this into a good world.

The truth of the Bible teaches different. Psalm 53:2.God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. 3. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Don’t say that a loving God is going to send you to Hell, He’s not. The thing that’s going to send you to Hell is that you’re a sinner and you don’t want to admit it. (J. Vernon McGee)

It’s my prayer that those who are lost would receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ this Christmas. No matter how old you are or how young, God hears the prayer of repentance from the heart of a sinner. Don’t put it off another day. There is no better time than right now because, if you should die today, tomorrow would be too late.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Ask Christ into your life if you haven’t. Do it today. Romans 10: 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Editor’s Note: Reader Diary is a periodic column written by local residents, Surry County natives, and readers of The Mount Airy News. If you have a submission for Reader Diary, email it to John Peters at jpeters@mtairynews.com

The old saying, “Woman’s work is never done” was a fact of life in the backwoods of the Blue Ridge Mountains of yesterday and if we could take a look, what might we find? She was Queen of her Castle (such as it was) and a hard-working soul who “kept” the house, chopped the firewood, worked the fields along-side her man, raised the kids and cooked the meals; (three a day, 365 days a year).

She washed clothes in a number two washtub over an out-door fire, ironed them with a flat-iron heated on the wood-burning cookstove, grew the garden, stored food for winter and shot the shotgun as good as any man; sometimes at her man.

Her word was “law” and anyone who crossed her path better have some heavy back-up or there would be H… to pay. She taught her kids “why and what for” with no more than a certain look that could burn a hole in a two-by-four. When she laid that look on her man, he looked up in the sky and asked his Maker, “Lord, what have I done now?”

Her only rest came at the end of the day; well after dark when all the work was done and all the kids were safe in bed. Only then could she kick back in her rocking chair, relax, wonder what was left undone and what tomorrow would bring. Whatever the case, she knew that with coming of the morn’, she would be ready to “go to war” once again and “fight the good fight” all over again.

Who might this wonder woman be? Maybe our Mama, our Grandmama, or other kin, who led the way to whatever we are today; a true mountain woman; a legend in her own time. So, let’s be proud of her and know, “they don’t make ‘em like her anymore and without her, you and I might not even be here today.”

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

When some Christians have troubles or some health issue, a few fellow Christians ask themselves, “I wonder what he or she did to cause this pain and suffering?” This question was always asked in the Old Testament days more so than it is asked today. The book of Job is a great example of this very thing. The Bible says that Job was perfect and upright and one that feared God. Not only was Job a just man but, God had blessed him with riches, seven sons and three daughters. Job even took sacrifices of burnt offering before the Lord to pay for his family’s sins. So there was not another man like Job in all the world at that time or maybe never will be other than Christ Himself according to the Bible.

Job is a fascinating account of a man of God of long ago. Job’s suffering was one of tremendous pain and heartache. It all starts with a conversation between God and Satan. God asks Satan where had he been and Satan told God in Job 1:7 going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

You might remember what the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Satan wants to cause Job sickness and sorrows. He wants you and I to have sickness and sorrows. He really wants to kill each of us but God won’t allow it until our time is finished here on this Earth. So Satan can’t touch God’s children unless God allows it.

Job 1:8 1 says And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Satan then says, you have built a wall of protection around your servant Job and all that he has. I can’t get to him but, if I could he would curse you to your face! God says OK, you may do anything you want to Job but you can’t kill him. Keep this in mind about this man called Job. He never knew why bad things were about happen to him and neither do we.

Question: Will we find out one day why we had all these different troubles in our life? I believe when we see Jesus and the Bible says in 1 John 3:2 but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. I don’t think our troubles here will matter anymore.

Satan within hours had wiped out all of Job’s livestock, riches and servants except for the four that brought the bad news to Job about his loss. Also Satan had killed his family except for his wife. Everything that God had blessed Job with was gone.

What did Job do? He says in Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. After all of Job’s loss of everything he had including his family he still trusted in the God but, again Satan steps into Job’s life and struck him with a sickness near death. Job’s wife tells him to curse God and let Him kill you!

Three of Job’s friends came to comfort him and sit with him. But, they judged him by saying, Job must be a wicked man and God is punishing him for his sin. Job responded to them was something like this; I believe God is just and powerful as you do. I am not a hypocrite and I know of no sin between me and God. I would argue my case with God but I cannot find Him. Nevertheless, I will trust Him for He will justify me either in this life or in the life to come. It took a great deal of faith for Job to defend God’s judgment during his circumstances.

How about you, how about me? Can we trust God throughout all of our trials, troubles and sickness? I believe very few would have that kind of faith because many would question God and some would have turned from their faith in Him. God is completely sovereign in His dealings with His people and will never permit anything to come in the life of a Christian that is not for their own good and God’s glory. God does not have to explain His ways to us. It is enough for us to know that He cares and that He never makes a mistake. We don’t live by explanations, we live by promises.

Don’t know that I would have the faith of Job if I lost all my family and everything else but, I pray that God would give all of us enough to make it through this life and just to hear His words as He says, well done good and faithful servant. Adrian Rodgers said “Faith is not accepting from God what you want, faith is accepting from God what He gives.” It’s not my choice and I’m sure it’s not yours to have troubles but it is our choice to trust God with all. I would hope we all would say as King David did in. Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him.

This time of year, Main Street here in Mount Airy sees a lot of foot traffic as people are shopping for the holiday. I always add a few books to my Christmas wish list, which made me realize I can’t remember a holiday where I wasn’t buying or receiving a book as a gift.

Bookstores today often include much more than just books. Some have built-in cafes to get specialty coffees and treats, trinkets and novelty gifts, games and toys, and a wide variety of things. As I walked Main Street this past weekend to start my shopping, I began to wonder what it would have been like to shop in a local bookstore 100 years, 75 years, or even 50 years ago? What types of things would it have sold? Who would have owned the businesses? What role did they serve in the community? Well, after plenty of research, let me paint you a picture.

J.D. Jenkins came to Mount Airy and opened his bookstore in the early 1880s right on Main Street. He experienced several years of success, and by 1892, joined up with another gentleman, L.S. Hadley. He built a two-story brick building next door for him to sell groceries, and even splurged to put down brick pavement in front of the two shops. Jenkins was not only a socialite and business-minded bookseller, but he was also a stationer. A stationer was someone who sold stationary at this time, or paper, ink, and tools used for writing. After gaining access to the train, many shops were expanding inventory options, and Jenkins was no exception. By 1900 he was even selling sewing machines in his bookstore.

As we move into the 1900s, J.D. Jenkins’ Book Store wasn’t the only bookstore on Main Street to offer luxury items. Moore’s Book Store liked to boast in the newspaper about offering “fancy goods of any kind.” In addition to a variety of books, it sold tobacco and cigars, stationery such as high-end writing paper and postcards, and even reading glasses from Hawkes Crystalized Lenses. They even advertised special days where someone would come in to test your eyes and adjust your glasses for you.

As we move into the 1910s to 1930s, a new bookstore, Creed’s Book Store (or J.W. Creed Book Store), came onto the scene. This shop was owned by A.E. Creed and would have been located between Franklin and Pine heading south (to the left of Snappy Lunch if you are facing the front of the shop.) The building was also conveniently located next to the Times-Leader newspaper building.

Creed’s Book Store carried books and stationery naturally, but also directly sold school books and supplies, as well as a variety of other items. The store burned down in June of 1931, sadly, and many damaged items were auctioned each night at the Marion Music House next door. Thankfully, the owners were able to rebuild, and soon after was able to resume selling the normal stock of magazines, newspapers, books, novelties and gifts, along with cigars and tobacco, guns, ammunition, and sporting goods.

By this time the Mount Airy Times had set up shop on Main Street, and would want to get in on the book selling. The Time’s Book Store operated in the front part of the Time’s office building on Main Street next to Wolfe’s Drug Store. The store was an extension of the paper and sold stationary and office supplies upon its opening in 1934. During their grand opening, they claimed in the paper to offer “…typewriters and filing systems for the business men; legal forms of all description for the attorneys and magistrates; and cardboard in all colors and sizes for the teachers and pupils of the various schools.” Many advertisements of the time marketed them as more of an office supply store than any kind of bookstore we would recognize today, but they still experienced years of success through the 1960s.

Hinkle’s Book Store followed and was a part of a chain of stores that originated in downtown Winston-Salem in 1925 by founder Sanford Hinkle. The store was the premier book supplier from the early 1960s to the 1980s.

This has in no way been a comprehensive list of all of the bookstores on Main Street throughout history, but hopefully offered insight by looking into some of the most well-known ones. In present-day, we have had a range of booksellers and for most of us today, Pages Books and Coffee comes to mind. In many ways, local bookstores throughout the years provided a way for us to educate and entertain ourselves, stay connected, advance our skills and professions, and even treat ourselves and our loved ones from time to time.

You may not be able to get your eyes checked or buy some ammunition at a local bookstore today, but for most of us, a coffee, a fun trinket, and Wi-Fi are a pretty sweet deal. I hope many of you consider shopping local this year when you can, to not only support your community, but to help continue preserving local traditions and history as well.

Cassandra Johnson is the programs and education director at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History and loves to encourage others to find the history in the little day to day aspects of their lives from what roads we drive to work or to shopping.

Pearl Harbor remembrance: A day of infamy

This “day of infamy” as President Roosevelt referred to this event will be remembered on Wednesday, Dec. 7. It was 81 years ago that the empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. The attack occurred just before 8 o’clock on a Sunday morning. It was a day of infamy that started at 7:55 a.m. on a peaceful morning in Hawaii with 350 planes involved in the surprise attack. Over 300 planes we destroyed and and 20 naval ships were destroyed including eight battleships. More than 2,400 military personnel and civilians died in the attack.

This day in history should always be remembered and the souls that lost their lives that fateful morning. We need to always keep our guard up and never allow such an event to ever happen again — always remember Pearl Harbor and the families who lost their loved ones on that fateful morning.

Mistletoe tops out the mighty oak trees

As the mighty oaks and hardwoods are finally shedding their leaves, they reveal clumps of greenery in their very tops as the mistletoe adorns their limbs. The mysterious mistletoe crowns the tops of the hardwoods. It is definitely out of the reach of most mortals. Only the brave and adventurous souls will attempt to harvest the elusive mistletoe.

The curious mistletoe has long held the traditions of romance and healing and a cure to neutralize poisons and certain other ailments. The old English custom of placing sprigs of mistletoe on the door sills and ceilings or every room gave men (as well as women) power to kiss everyone in the house.

Mistletoe is a mystery within itself, and it is a miracle it even exists. Its very propagation depends on the mighty oaks and other hardwoods as they become sustainers of life for the mistletoe which is a parasite. It thrives from the nutrients of the hardwoods. With the development of many acres of woodlands, mistletoe is not the commonplace greenery it was in the 20th century, but the mystique of it is still there. In the 1800s J. A. Sterry wrote, “A privilege tis to know to exercise time-honored rights when Christmas fires steam and glow, when loving lips may pout, although with other lips they oft unite – Tis merry neath the mistletoe!”

Celebrating with holly and ivy

How happy the holly tree looks, and how strong she stands like a sentinel all year long. Neither dry summer heat, nor cold winter hail can make that bright warrior tremble or quail. She has beamed all the year, but bright scarlet she will glow when the ground glitters white with the fresh fallen snow.

Holly is an ancient symbol of Christmas decorations with its glassy green leaves and bright red berries. Holly is common in the Eastern and Central United States and in areas east of the Mississippi River. The red berries are called “drupes” and only the female trees produce berries. Male trees must be in the area where the female trees can produce berries. The red berries are also named “winter berries.” The early Christians used holly as decorations because it is evergreen and eternal just as Christmas is a celebration of new life and life eternal.

You can not only deck the halls with boughs of holly, but also with strands of ivy. Ivy has long runners that can be used for decorating doorways mantels, window sills, and also to construct a natural advent wreath or wrapped around votive candles. There are more than 15 species of ivy. It is a running vine that creeps along the ground and also climbs walls and up chimneys and climbs the trunks of trees.

Picking out a live Christmas tree

As December arrives, so do the Christmas tree lots come alive and bright green and many area churches also have Christmas tree lots as fundraisers. Local supermarkets also have great line up of live Christmas trees. Follow a few easy steps to select your perfect tree for your family. 1) Let the whole family have a part in selecting the tree. 2) Check cut bottom of tree; it should be yellow and fresh-cut. 3) The tree should smell fresh. 4) Bend a limb or two, they should be springy. 5) Bounce the tree, if needles fall off, don’t buy that tree. 6) The tree should be dark green in color. 7) When you bring the tree home, soak the bottom of the tree in a tub of cold water for 24 hours. 8) Place the tree in a stand that will allow you to water the tree. 9) A cared-for tree will last over a month. 10) Never leave a tree lit when leaving the home.

Enjoying aroma of a Douglas Fir Christmas tree

Your tree may not be real, but you can still enjoy the fragrance of spruce or fir in your home. We are aware that you can purchase spray cans of tree scents, but the very best way to enjoy aroma of spruce and fir is to go to the Christmas tree lot purchase some trimmings from Christmas trees and decorate mantels and windows for a fresh evergreen smell. Pay these hard workers well for the clippings. These folks work long, cold, hard hours and deserve your support.

A nip in the air and a freeze on the ground

The nights are getting colder and there is a certain nip in the air that paves the way for frosty nights and soon the first of the hard freezes. This is not all bad news because the cold weather vegetables will benefit from the cold soil and actually be sweetened by the frost. When the soil freezes, it will kill off wintering insects and destroy some of their eggs and larvae. All the cold weather crops have a layer of crushed leaves on them as a protective blanket.

Making an easy, moist Christmas salad

This is an easy and colorful fruit salad to prepare for a Christmas meal and it only takes five minutes to prepare. You will need one can of pineapple chunks (drained), one can of fruit cocktail (drained), one can pears (diced), one can diced peaches (drained), one jar red maraschino cherries (drained), one jar green maraschino cherries (drained), two cups miniature marshmallows, one teaspoon orange extract, one tablespoon banana flavoring, one boxy (3 oz.) instant pistachio pudding mix, one tub of Cool Whip. Mix all fruits together. Add marshmallows, flavorings, pudding and Cool whip. Stir together for a minute. Cool in refrigerator several hours. Keep in the refrigerator after serving.

Bon bons and dark chocolate creme drops

As the Christmas season nears, we see the arrival of old fashioned dark chocolate creme drops with their familiar cone shapes and melt in your math flavor of dark chocolate coating and creamy vanilla filling. They are a once a year favorite from Christmas past that comes alive every year at Christmas time. Another old fashioned Christmas treat is coconut bon bons in their colors of chocolate, pink, white and yellow filled with sweet grated coconut forming Christmas flavor balls. They are featured at many country stores all during Christmas season.

Family Tree. A neighbor was boasting about his ancestors who came over on the Mayflower. The farmer got bored with all that bragging and said, “That’s too sad, in my business we always say, the older the seed, the worse the crop.”

Bald spot. The little boy told the barber while getting his first haircut, “I want my hair out like my dad’s with a hole on top,” he instructed the barber.

Empty pot shot. There was a man who shot an arrow into the air — and missed!

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day will be Wednesday, Dec. 7. There will also be a full moon on Wednesday, Dec. 7, and it will be known as “Full Cold Moon.” The moon reaches its last quarter on Friday, Dec. 16. Wright Brothers Day will be Saturday, Dec. 17. Hanukkah begins at sundown on Sunday, Dec. 18. Winter begins on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The new moon of December occurs on the evening of Friday, Dec. 23. Christmas Eve will be Saturday, Dec. 24. Christmas Day will be Sunday, Dec. 25. The moon reaches its first quarter on Thursday, Dec. 29. New Year’s Eve will be Saturday, Dec. 31.

If you traveled the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains back in the day, you probably met him, unless he wished otherwise. He was corn-fed, creek-baptized, lean as a fishing pole, wore clod-hopper shoes, bib overalls, a black floppy hat, grew a long black beard, carried a huge shotgun and was “mean as a snake when messed with,” so it was said.

But, he also had a heart of gold and would give you the shirt off his back if you were in need, or maybe just for the heck of it.

He was a man of the land who knew when it would rain, when it would snow, when fish would bite best, what kind and where. His hand-shake was his bond and he brewed the best corn likker’ on God’s Green Earth. “Them Revenoors” were the enemy and he liked nothing better than matching wits with “Them Devils.” By the time they stumbled on his still place, the still was long-gone and he was already cooking in another holler.

He was king of his castle, (such as it was) and a mean hickory switch kept his kids on the straight and narrow. When they asked “why,” he said, “Because I said so.” He chopped wood with a double-bladed axe, hunted, fished, and grew corn in the same fields his ancestors dug out of the woods at the beginning of time.

His foxhounds were his pride and joy and many were the nights he listened to Old Blue chase a fox three miles away in the mountainside: the best music known to mankind. “Old Betsy” was his shotgun and his best friend; he hunted with it; ate with it, and when Mama went on the warpath, he slept with it. At Christmas time, he made his own fireworks by shooting Old Betsy in the air at nothing.

Any doubts about him being a tough old bird went away on the last day of December, when he and his pals “took on a bait” of their “favorite beverage” and celebrated the coming of the New Year by skinny-dipping in an ice-cold creek at the stroke of midnight. (Each and all thanked their Lord for the big bonfire burning nearby.)

Who might this legend be? He could very well be my pa or your pa, or maybe our grandpa or great-grandpa; a rough, tough man from the hills who was afraid of nothing but his wife. He had no desire to see the world because he already lived in Paradise and spent his entire life within sight of the place he was born. One of his greatest joys was watching the seasons change, and the one he liked best began when the wild geese flew north in early February, which told him spring was coming again to his precious land.

Let’s hope and pray that maybe, just maybe, some of his traits have been “handed down” through the years and let’s never forget the legend who came before us: to whom we owe so much; a dyed-in-the-wool Mountain Man.

Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.

Public schools in Surry County are strong. We have three great school systems including Mount Airy City Schools, Elkin City Schools, and Surry County Schools.

The Gallup Poll has polled parents across the US as to their satisfaction with public schools. The satisfaction rate hit an all-time high in 1999 with 83% and remains high in 2022 with 73%. Parents in general remain largely satisfied with the excellence provided in public schools (Gallup, 2021, K-12 Parents Remain Largely Satisfied with Child’s Education).

The John Locke survey of parents in North Carolina shows well over half of the parents in the state are satisfied with their public schools and over 70% of North Carolinians are choosing public schools (https://www.johnlocke.org/what-do-north-carolina-parents-think-about-education-and-their-schools/). Most polls are showing that generally the public feel good about public schools but want to make sure the schools address some key issues, one of those being safety.

Mount Airy City Schools has a comprehensive safety plan that we outlined earlier in this series of articles. The update I will address this month deals with how that safety plan is rolling out. We have many updates that are important in which we need parents and the community to partner with us. We have buzz-in systems at each front door and we generally ask folks to stay out of the building unless there is an appointment to come in the building. We ask for your ID if you do enter the building. We use an ID system that does a quick check and gives you a visitors pass. This helps our students and staff know that you are an approved visitor on the campus.

Each of our schools have created a School Emergency Response Team (SERT) plan where key individuals within each campus have a role to play in the event of an incident. Some of these roles are safety officer, operations person, communications person, transportation person, etc. The incident could be something such as a fire in the kitchen, a gas leak outside the building, an unknown person on campus, or an upset individual in the office. Any incident may call for a safety plan to be used. We also know that often there are weather-related incidents where the electricity or water have gone out in the school. We must be prepared no matter what the occurrence.

Our goal in working with the county emergency management, our local law enforcement, outside safety experts, and our staff is to execute the Standard Response Protocol (SRP). Your help with understanding the SRP and explaining it to your children and grandchildren will go a long way in keeping them calm in an emergency.

The Standard Response Protocol is based on the response to any given situation not on individual scenario. It demands a specific vocabulary but also allows for great flexibility. The premise is simple – these five specific actions can be performed during an incident. When communicating these, the action is labeled with a “Term of Art” and is then followed by a “Directive.” Execution of the action is performed by active participants.

Hold is followed by the Directive: “In Your Room or Area” and is the protocol used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants.

Secure is followed by the Directive: “Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors” and is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building.

Lockdown is followed by “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight” and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place.

Evacuate may be followed by a location, and is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building.

Shelter, State the Hazard, and Safety Strategy for group and self-protection.

We need your help in making sure you and your child understand the terminology described above. We know that it is unlikely for us to have a safety event as schools have put a lot of things in place to deter any safety concerns, but in the event there is a safety situation we want your child to feel safe and supported. We were able to conduct our first safety drills this fall in which there was a scenario played out in your child’s school. This allowed for the school to run their safety plan using their personnel and resources available at the time.

Students and staff were placed under “hold” and “lockdown” to develop muscle memory in the event of a real situation. I am happy to report that all schools were successful during the drill. The drill helped us identify areas where we are strong and areas where we can make improvements. Our local law enforcement participated in the drills and will continue to support us throughout the year in our comprehensive safety plan.

In the winter, we will continue with a drill using “secure.” This is used if there is an incident outside of the school building in the community and it doesn’t appear to be a threat. It would allow us to keep our building secure and not let anyone in or out during this time. It allows what is occurring inside the building to continue. The Mount Airy Police Department are typically who let us know of any community situation that would require a “secure” command. The activities inside the building can continue as normal during this command. In the winter, each campus will also be conducting safety table top drills with the local police department and outside safety experts. This allows for a more complex safety drill and opportunities for key people to develop muscle memory for their role.

Lastly, the spring will contain a more complex safety drill that might occur during arrival, dismissal, class changes, recess, and/or lunch. This drill will be a bit more difficult because of the students being in various places around the campus, but nonetheless an important time to practice safety. We believe that our staff and students will handle it like champs and they will be ready in case there is a situation that arises during the year.

John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin and was a Pharisee. Sanhedrin was the equivalent of our US Supreme Court. He was the cream of the crop of Israel so to speak. The 70 members came from the chief priests, scribes, and elders. They made religious decisions and laws of the land. So Nicodemus was as religious as you could get in Jesus day. He knew all the beliefs and had a hand in making those decisions into law for Israel.

There has been a lot said about Nicodemus and these passages, but I believe that Nicodemus was investigating the words of Jesus not so much for himself at the time although I believe Nicodemus ended up believing the words of Jesus. But, I also believe he was concerned about the people of Israel because, after all he was one of those on the council that made the laws of religion and an interrupter of the Old Testament. He believed the Bible but most Jews couldn’t see that Jesus was the Messiah to come.

Many today can’t see that prophecy is being fulfilled right before their eyes but it is. The investigation and open mind of Nicodemus lead him to being saved I believe, but the truth is it was a divine meeting set up by our Lord. I also believe that if Nicodemus hadn’t come to Jesus at night or in secret, he could have been scolded by the other leaders by not having a witness with him and may have never heard the saving words of Jesus. He could have been thrown out of the council altogether I believe.

Jesus statement; John 3:3 Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus response was a logical one with; Verse 4 How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Nicodemus was eliminating the simplest explanation. But, Jesus explains exactly what it takes to be saved, born again. 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

There are many explanations on these verses but let’s look at Jesus words close in verses 5, 6. Many believe be born of water means to being born of a woman, the fluid or water that the baby is carried in the mother. Makes since you must be born human. Many believe what Jesus meant about born of water was speaking of the Word of God which is referred to all through the Bible as water. (John 4:4) (John 7:37-39). Makes since because we must hear Gods word to be saved. Some believe that Jesus meant you must be baptized in the Holy Spirit. That makes since also because God sends the Holy Spirit to live in those who ask Him into their life.

So, I say it takes all the above. Jesus said in this same chapter 3 that for God so love the world, he came to this earth as a human born of a woman. The spirit of God in the flesh as a man called Jesus Christ. That’s what it means to be born again. This is also the reason Jesus said That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. We are born in the flesh to mend the relationship with God because of sin. We hear Gods word, it draws us by His love. If we ask Him into our life we receive the Holy Spirit that that seals us and gives us a new identity with God that we belong to Him through Jesus. So, we are born again when we receive the Holy Spirit. We are born with a choice, we hear Gods word as a choice and we receive Him as our choice. What eternal choice have you made? Jesus didn’t make salvation complicated. He made it your choice.

The last few days of November

Only a few more days and November will be over. It is hard to believe the season of Christmas is only one month from now. As the month of November comes to a close, let us keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive and do not allow the Christmas rush to snatch it away. Please keep that attitude of thanks and praise for every day of life, for family and friends and all the blessings we receive and enjoy.

Hard freezes as November ends

Indian Summer is coming to an end and the nights are becoming frosty. The hard freezes are not far away. Ice in the mud holes will be a morning event. All cool weather vegetables will benefit from hard freezes and suffer no ill effects because they are protected with a layer of crushed leaves. It will not be very long until the ground will be cold enough for snow to fall and stick to the ground. Who knows, we may have a white Christmas!

Sunday will be the first day of Advent

Sunday, Nov. 28, will be the first Sunday of Advent which begins the time of preparation of the season of Christmas. It is time to place the Moravian star on the porch and keep it lit all night every night until the Day of Epiphany which occurs on Friday, Jan. 6. As you get out your Christmas decorations, unpack your lighted Christmas candles and light them each night as Advent season begins on Sunday. As we begin the holy season of Advent, the illuminated candles and Moravian star lights the way to celebrate the birth of Jesus and acknowledges the fact that he is the light of the world.

Poinsettias in supermarkets and stores

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the poinsettias are on display in garden centers, supermarkets, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Food Lion, Lowe’s Foods, Harris Teeter, nurseries and hardwares. Poinsettias come in colors of red, white, pink, orange and mint green. Purchase them in large containers so you can adorn them with bows and Christmas foil with large bows. Christmas ornaments can also be placed on them. They are tropical so keep them in a warm place away from direct sunlight. Water lightly once a week.

Christmas cactus are in full bloom

Unlike poinsettias that have to be pampered, the Christmas cactus thrives on the front porch all summer and prepares itself for Christmas all year long and rewards us with colorful blooms just before Christmas as they spend late autumn, winter and early spring in the semi-sunny living room. All they need is some good cactus medium, a small drink of water each week and a few tablespoons of Flower-Tone organic flower food once a month. After they finish their blooms, remove them when they begin to fall off.

It is cane time for the rose bushes

Prepare the roses for winter by pruning back the long canes and dead heading all spent blooms and hips. Dig around the base of the bushes and apply a cup full of Rose-Tone organic rose food and a layer of crushed leaves around the base of the roses. Cutting back the canes will prevent ice and snow damage and improve the appearance of the bushes.

Simplicity in a pot of fresh collards

Now that the Thanksgiving meals are over, it’s time for some down to earth nutrition from a bowl of fresh collard greens, touched by the frost and sweetened by its influence. Collards perform well in the acid soil of the Piedmont, but the coastal loamy soil of the Coastal Plains in northeastern and Southern North Carolina is where collards grow as large as hedge bushes. In Dunn they till and grow some of the largest collards in the state and some people even produce them in their front yards. Northampton County also produces some hefty collards. My mother and grandmother cooked plenty of collards during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. On the days after Thanksgiving, the supper meal would be collards seasoned with ham bone, yellow cornbread and pinto beans. Across the Roanoke River in Roanoke Rapids the sidewalks, parking lots as well as service stations were lined with the greenery of collards. Area farmers sold collard heads in front of stores and businesses. The huge collard heads sold for between a dollar to a dollar and a half per collard head.

Getting darker early; staying dark longer

Daylight Savings Time ended earlier this month and we lost an hour of daylight and we are still losing a minute each evening and that adds up to plenty of darkness. There is a light at the end of the tunnel because after Dec. 21, we will begin to see a minute more of daylight each evening. It will be about six weeks before we can see much difference.

A hydrogen peroxide perk for winter overs

For a little extra energy and a quick pepper upper for plants wintering over in the home, add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to the water before pouring on the plants each week as you water plants. An ounce per gallon is not too much.

An easy snack for winter birds

This is an easy snack for birds that will visit your lawn this late autumn and winter. Mix a jar of peanut butter with a jar of yellow corn meal and a jar of bird seed. Fill a foil pie pan with this mix and place it on the lawn near the bird bath.

Decorating with colorful holly and ivy

“The holly and the ivy, when they are both fully grown. Of all the trees that grow in the wood, the holly wears the crown.” “The holly bears a berry as red as any blood. And Mary bore sweet Jesus to do all sinners good.” “The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall. Mary bore sweet Jesus, For to redeem us all.” Holly and ivy are both evergreens and have long been traditional decorations of Christmas.

“But give me holly, bold and jolly. Prickly shining holly; pluck me holly leaf and berry For Christmas when we make

merry.”- Christina Rossetti. Check the Garden Plot next week for more about the holly and the ivy as we usher in the season of Christmastime.

Making a bowl of sweet carrot ambrosia

With the Christmas holidays less than a month away, this is an unusual recipe for ambrosia with a new twist of vegetables as well as fruits. The grated carrots give this ambrosia added texture. You will need one small bag of carrots (grated), one can crushed pineapple, (drained), two cups miniature marshmallows, one cup flaked coconut, one small jar red maraschino cherries, one cup chopped green seedless grapes, one cup golden raisins, four tablespoons sugar, one tablespoon orange extract, one cup of sour cream, one tablespoon vanilla extract. Wash, peel and grate carrots in blender in grate mode, mix all other ingredients and chill in the refrigerator overnight. After serving, keep the ambrosia in refrigerator.

“Practice What You Preach.” A preacher once asked an actor why he had such a large audience, while he as a preacher had such a small congregation at his church. The actor told the preacher, “I act as if I believe what I say, while you preach as if you do not believe what you preach.”

“Downhill Drive!”Angry customer: “I thought you said this was a good car. It won’t go uphill.” Used car dealer: “I said, on the level, it’s a good car.”

“Night owl student.” Student: “I’m very tired, I was up until midnight doing my homework.” Teacher: “At what time did you begin?” Student: “At 11:55 p.m.”

Telephone directories were once a staple in every household across the United States and the world. The need for telephone directories has diminished in recent years with the prevalence of smartphones, largely because people are able to find business phone numbers by using the internet. In the US, current rules mean that mobile phone numbers cannot be included in telephone directories.

Some people still regularly rely on the books, such as historians, many of whom use the directories as research tools. While looking through the archive of telephone directories in Mount Airy, we can find a wealth of information and get a glimpse into the lives of those who lived in the area.

Through these phone books we can gather information that might not be available elsewhere, such as the names of spouses, occupation and place of employment, and where they lived. Typically, anyone over the age of 18 was listed in the directory. In researching local history, we can use directories to find out when businesses were established, where they were located or moved locations.

The first telephone directory dates back to 1878. Published in Connecticut, the directory listed only 50 contact details and took up a single page. Before the advent of telephones, directories were already in existence, but would merely list addresses. Additionally, early directories did not list its entries alphabetically but instead numerically.

In the early years of telephones, callers would merely provide switchboard operators with the name of whoever they were trying to get into contact with, and because of the limited number of telephones and the localized nature of telephone exchanges at the time, the operator already knew the number to reach every telephone.

It was not until 1879 when Dr. Moses Greeley Parker, a medical doctor in Massachusetts, made the argument for both including phone numbers and ordering these directories in alphabetical order by last name. This was during an outbreak of measles, with many switchboard operators being unable to work which put a strain on the telephone system. The new form of phone books meant the general public could find what number they needed to be connected to, rather than relying on the switchboard operator’s knowledge.

Before Mount Airy had phone books, Branson’s Business Directory was published. In the late 1800s, the Reverend Levi Branson hired more than 100 people to go throughout North Carolina to canvas businesses and compile a list of their locations. Businesses included churches, hotels, mills, teachers, mines, doctors, factories, and others, listed with their respective post offices and proprietors’ names. Sections of the book were divided up via county, and copies sold for $5.

Giving a glimpse into life in Surry County at the time, the 1890 Branson’s Business Directory provides the limited window as to when the Mount Airy Superior Court was open: “..meets seventh Monday after the first Monday in March and September, and the second Monday before the first Monday in November.”

The earliest General Directory of Mount Airy did not list phone numbers but rather it was a street directory. One section listed streets, the individual addresses and who or what entity resided there. Another section had an alphabetical listing of residents in the city along with their home address and occupation. Lastly, businesses were listed by their type such as barber shop, produce dealer or ice manufacturer in addition to their address.

The first telephone directory for this area is believed to be the 1917 directory from the Mount Airy Telephone Company, only 12 pages long, compared to later versions which could easily be over 200 pages in length.

The South East Public Service Company Telephone Directory of 1935 covered Mount Airy, Pilot Mountain, Rural Hall and Dobson. The first section of the book is taken up with “General Information for Telephone Users,” including How to Speak (“in answering calls, do not say ‘Hello,’ but announce your name or the name of your firm”). Due to the company only covering the local area, there was no need for area codes, as such, the phone numbers listed only had up to four digits. To contact the Mount Airy Furniture Company, located on Factory Street, you merely had to dial ‘1’, while the Mount Airy Granite Corp’s phone number was 9.

Other telephone directories published in the area include Miller’s telephone directory, which was published in Mount Airy from 1928 up to the mid 1960s, and Mullin-Kille Con Survey books from the late ’60s to the early ‘70s. Mullin-Kille phone directories were published in various towns and cities across the country. Like other telephone directories, they included listings for businesses and individuals as well as advertisements for local businesses. The directory branded itself as being “a numerical telephone directory and a complete buyers’ guide, and a classified business directory with special listings for nationally advertised brands.” As with other directories of its time, married women were listed alongside their husband’s name, except for “Married women engaged in some responsible occupation are listed individually in addition to their regular listing with the husband.”

Telephone directories are a valuable resource to locating people in the historical record when other sources are no longer around. Although seemingly mundane, everyday objects, they capture a moment in time just as a photograph would. However, while photographs fade with time, these sturdy, factual and comprehensive books remain an almost indestructible artifact of history.

Katherine “Kat” Jackson is an employee at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. Originally from Australia she now lives in King. She can be reached at the museum at 336-786-4478.

Shortly after moving to Mount Airy in 2015, I had a chance encounter at a popular local eatery with a then-sitting commissioner, who told me that the citizens of Mount Airy were too “weak-minded” to understand key issues that came before the city council.

For at least the past seven years, that level of arrogance has permeated the secretive, behind-the-scenes process that has been used by the city council to withhold key information, spread false narratives, and ultimately make many poor decisions.

It came as no surprise, then, to read two articles recently in The Mount Airy News: one, about the ridiculously secretive Project Cobra; the other, about the equally ridiculous secret location of a property to be purchased by the city for $300,000. Together, those articles speak volumes about how very far we’ve fallen – as a society as a whole, and as a small rural town, in particular – since the days when openness in governance and the sanctity of the First Amendment were espoused by John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States of America.

In a speech given in 1961, President Kennedy said, “The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.

“And no official of my Administration…” he added, “should interpret my words…as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.”

In early December, a new cast of characters will join the Mount Airy City Council. I am hopeful that the newcomers, along with those commissioners whose seats were not up for re-election, will respect and encourage all stakeholders within the community to be active participants in the council’s deliberations.

To invite citizen input, the council should share all relevant information about a major expense or planned project with the public and press in a timely manner, and then schedule “public comment” about that issue to occur at least one council meeting prior to its scheduled vote. An open, transparent process does not prevent or preclude the need for confidentiality during the early phase of promising economic-development discussions; but it should limit the amount of time such preliminary discussions remain under wraps.

In addition, the mayor and each commissioner should clearly articulate their individual thoughts about key issues – which, in the case of commissioners, would identify their reason/s for voting yea or nay.

Finally, as a gentle reminder to our new city council, please be assured that ”we the people” are far from stupid.

The only way to stay ahead of the leaf harvest is by raking, blowing, and vacuuming to the compost pile or din or by starting a pile of crushed leaves to use as a blanket for rose bushes and warmth for rows of cool weather vegetables. You can also run the mower over the leaves can and reduce their volume for the compost pile or bin.

Plenty of greenery still around

Even though there is a lot of brown, tan, and gray around in the middle of November, there is quite a bit of green that remains in the woodlands and along the roads and highways. The short leaf pines highlight the maples and birch trees that have already shed their leaves, the cedars and short leaf pines highlight the gray bark of the birch trees. Wild honeysuckle vines climb along ditch banks and up the trunks of bare trees and floors of woodlands. Greenery in all forms is welcome wherever it is found in every season. The Siberian kale is producing its own shade of green, as well as turnip, broccoli collards, mustard, cabbage and onion sets. The deck and porch still have plenty of perennials and pansy foliage adorning their containers. Our eyes can focus on all kinds of greenery as we approach the cold of the winter.

Plenty of time to lime

November is the opportune time to apply pelletized lime to the lawn. November is the best time to apply pelletized lime because November with its autumn rain, heavy frosts and possibly some snow will soak the pellets into the sod and prevent them from washing away. The possibility of sleet, snow, and ice in December will further dissolve the pellets deeper into the soil.

Ice in mud holes as well as the birdbath

The cold nights of November can freeze water in mud holes as well as bird baths, but a hard ground freeze may still be more than a month away. Frozen water in mud holes and bird baths make it hard for birds to find water. After the temperatures rise above freezing, empty the ice from the bird bath and replace with clean, fresh water. This will make life a bit easier for birds in the cold days leading into winter.

Enjoying the last of Indian Summer days

From now until the week of Thanksgiving, we still have days of Indian Summer that remain comfortable even though the nights may be much cooler with plenty of frosty mornings. Most of nature is preparing for a long winter nap. The garden is definitely not in nap mode with the greenery of Siberian kale, turnips, onion sets, curly mustard greens, collards broccoli and cabbage heading toward a harvest. Layers of crushed leaves will blanket the soil and protect the cool weather vegetables.

Season of heavy recycling on its way

Thanksgiving is only two weeks away and this kicks off a season of six weeks of generating a lot of trash that could be placed in the recycling carts. You can recycle all bottles, cans, plastic, milk, cartons, soft drink bottles, metal cans, card board boxes and containers, toilet tissue tubes and paper towel tubes, newspapers (bundled), and aluminum soft drink cans. Every item you recycle will prevent filling up landfills and will promote a healthier environment for our children and grandchildren.

Robins remain with us through the cold

Robins seem to have adapted to southern winters because we continually see them in all the months of the year. The ground does not freeze that often and robins can find a steady diet of food. They have plenty of places to winter over in and under barns and out buildings and in hollow trees, logs, and under the eaves of houses. They can also shelter themselves in piles of leaves and hay. The temperatures are not that freezing during the whole winter. They are around all winter and are not shivering, in fact their color is good and they seem to be well-fed active and healthy.

Making a tuna macaroni meat loaf

This is a mid-November great main dish for a cool evening and it has plenty of color and flavor. You will need one can of evaporated milk, three fourth cup of water, one and a half cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, one stick light margarine, one and a half cups grated bread crumbs (run through blender in “grate” mode), one fourth cup diced onion, two ounce jar of diced pimentos (drained), two cans of tuna, half teaspoon salt, half teaspoon pepper three cups of cooked and drained macaroni and three large beaten eggs. Combine evaporated milk, water, cheese and margarine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the cheese melts, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add crushed bread crumbs that have been grated in the blender, add diced onion and pimentos, tuna, salt and pepper. Stir the cooked macaroni and beaten eggs into tuna mixture. Pour into a 13x9x2 inch baking pan or dish sprayed with Pam Baking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for one hour and a half or until loaf is firm. Cool slightly and cut into squares. Makes eight servings.

It may be a very small chance, but not any huge impossibility that some flakes of snow could occur in November. It has happened before but not very often. If and when it does occur, our mountains see the most of it and even then it is not heavy. The soil is still quite warm and even if a snow does fall, it will be short lived and melt fairly quickly. Remember: it does not take too many flakes of snow to generate excitement and in the middle of November, all of us could use that kind of excitement. Bring on a bit of white stuff!

The month to buy Christmas cactus

As we move into mid- November, Christmas cactus pots and containers in festive colors are being displayed at Food Lion, Lowe’s Foods, Harris Teeter, Walmart, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Lowe’s Home Improvement and most hardwares and nurseries. Most are in full bloom and you can select the colors you desire, you can choose from red, white, pink and coral. They come in small or medium pots. As the cactus complete their bloom cycle, they can be transplanted to a larger container and purchase a bag of Miracle-Gro citrus and cactus starting medium that comes in an orange bag. This will prepare them for many Christmases to come. Feed the cactus in winter by feeding them once a month with Flower-Tone organic flower food and water lightly every ten days. All winter, keep cactus in a semi-sunny location. Use a plastic drip pan under the cactus container to prevent water from dripping on floor or carpet.

Winter wonderland of Siberian kale

Siberian Kale is a cole family vegetable that has its own color, texture and beauty that reflects the coming of winter. The deep emerald green and dainty texture of its leaves when frost touches them is unforgettable beauty as it thrives in mid-November temperatures. Kale is one of America’s most popular greens because of its sweetness and tender leaves. They blend well in salads or as a pot of greens. Siberian Kale can be harvested even when snow is on the ground.

Grandma’s hand grated fresh coconut

The easy way to prepare any thing with coconut in it is to purchase flakes or frozen grated coconut. My Northampton County grandma prepared her coconut for Thanksgiving and Christmas the old fashioned way. She always took the extra time to prepare fresh coconut. She would buy fresh, whole coconuts that were about the size of cantaloupe. Her process of preparing the coconuts started by punching three holes in the “eyes” of the coconut so she could drain the milk and reserve it because that would be the main ingredient of her coconut icing. When added to the hand-grated coconut, it would enhance the flavor to a whole new level. An axe or hammer was used to break open the coconuts into chunks. The next step was to separate the shell from the coconut “meat.” After this, the the “meat” of the coconut had to have a peeling removed to prepare the coconut “meat” for grating. This was a labor intensive task. The most labor intensive task of all was still ahead and that was hand grating the coconut chunks with a metal grater. A large pan would catch the coconut flakes as they came from the grater. Today, this process is much easier because you can run the coconut chunks through the blender in grate mode. After the grating process, the coconut was ready to be made into fresh coconut cake or coconut pies. These cakes and pies were special because fresh grated coconuts mixed with coconut milk makes the most moist cake in the world.

“Lost and Found.” Jan: “Did anyone here lose a roll of bills with a rubber band around them?” Dan: “Yes, I did.” Jan: “Well, I found the rubber band.”

“A sad song.” Jack: ” I spent $100,000 on voice lessons learning how to sing.” Zack: “I would like for you to meet my brother.” Jack: “Why? Is he a singer too?” Zack: “No but he’s a lawyer and he may be able to get your $100,000 back.”

The looks and feelings of Thanksgiving

It looks a lot like Thanksgiving and the cool autumn air has the feeling of Thanksgiving. The lawns have been turned golden brown by Jack Frost. Most leaves have fallen from the trees except for the stubborn oaks. The garden is in nap mode and only the cool weather vegetables remain active. The cardinals and chickadees have already visited the feeder for their pre-Thanksgiving meal. The aroma of turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie floats through the neighborhood. The kids are playing in the street because there is not much traffic. Thanksgiving is a time of reflecting and relaxing before the Christmas rush and think about the upcoming season of Advent. Don’t allow the rush to overwhelm you. Use this season of Thanksgiving to enjoy family. Take special time to enjoy and be thankful for the blessings of health and strength during this year.

Corn bread is popular on November tables

During November when the harvest of turnips, mustard greens, collards and Siberian kale is in progress, cornbread becomes a staple at the autumn tables. There are two types of cornbread; one of them is baked and the other is fried in patties or cakes. Corn bread can be prepared with yellow or white cornmeal. Both are great, but the yellow is sweeter and a bit moister. We believe corn bread becomes more popular during November as the cool weather vegetables are harvested and cornbread becomes a major ingredient in cornbread dressing at Thanksgiving. My Northampton County grandma always baked her cornbread in the oven on a large wood stove with yellow corn meal, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, and butter. My mother prepared her cornbread on the stove top in a cast iron frying pan. There are many recipes for cornbread and this one is like my grandma prepared in her wood stove oven: Two cups of yellow cornmeal, one cup plain flour, two teaspoons baking powder, three tablespoons sugar, one teaspoon salt, two large eggs, one cup of buttermilk, two sticks melted butter of light margarine and half teaspoon black pepper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix yellow cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt and pepper. Add eggs and buttermilk. Mix all ingredients well. Spray a 13x9x2 inch baking pan with Pam baking spray. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Cut into squares.

Seasonings that make cooking much easier

McCormick’s certainly makes baking apple and pumpkin pies easier with their combination of spices in one container in the products of pumpkin pie and apple pie spices with all the essential spices already pre- mixed. Another great seasoning mix is poultry seasoning for fried chicken, gravy and dressing. As you prepare spaghetti, McCormick’s Italian seasoning, oregano and other spices make spaghetti easy to prepare.

A great way to decorate the dining room table for Thanksgiving and Christmas is to use decorative, glossy large paper plates instead of place mats. Use the glossy plates that have Thanksgiving and Christmas art themes during the holidays. An eight pack costs less than $5s. On Valentines Day, you can buy Valentine plates for Saint Valentine’s. Large paper plates can be inserted in them. Add a few candles to match your plates and you will have a nice table setting at very small price.

Purchasing a Moravian star for Christmas

The season of Advent will begin in a few more days and now is a great time purchase a unique Christmas decoration. They are easy to assemble, durable, weatherproof and simply beautiful. They are available at Moravian book stores, Gullians book stores and Salem Gifts on Hanes Mall Boulevard in Winston-Salem. Nothing makes a Christmas statement like a Moravian star shining all through the night.

Vermont Country Store is unusual

One of America’s best mail order general stores, and it produces catalogs all year long, is the Vermont Country Store. They feature items from days gone by and also practical and unusual items. One of their special items is “Blue Willow” dinnerware. They have a huge selection of old fashioned candies, clothing, jams, jellies and takes as well as cookies. The covers on their catalogs are truly works of art especially their Christmas catalogs. You can request one of their catalogs at this address, Vermont Country Store, P.O. Box 6998 Rutland VT 05702-6998.

Making a cherry banana nutbread cake

This is a great recipe for bread loaves or cakes for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It is moist with the bananas in it. You will need a half cup of light margarine, one cup and a half of sugar, two large eggs, four mashed bananas mixed with the juice of one lemon, one teaspoon of baking soda, two cups of plain flour, half cup of chopped pecans, half cup of chopped chocolate chips, half cup of red maraschino cherries, and one teaspoon real vanilla extract. Cream the margarine and sugar, add the eggs and beat well. Add the mashed bananas and lemon juice, add all the other ingredients, place in two small loaf pans or one tube pan. Line the bottoms of pan or pans with piece of waxed paper trimmed to fit. Spray bottom of pans with Pam baking spray apply the waxed paper and spray the pan, waxed paper and sides with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until firm and springy. Cool before removing from pans. Wrap in Glad or Saran clear plastic wrap. This will keep them moist and fresh.

Thanksgiving at grandma’s

Thanksgiving was always very special at grandma’s house in Northampton County. It always started the night before with pallets all over the house and every room filled with grandchildren. There was a huge sawdust pile behind her house and we would see who could roll down it the fastest. A huge woods was behind the sawdust pile and we would go there with our Red Ryder air rifles and have a shooting good time when things got boring, we would shoot at each other! The Thanksgiving meal was served all day long on a large round table with a turntable on top where the food was placed, when you wanted certain foods, you would spin the turntable to locate the food and serve yourself. Both layers of the table were covered with oil cloth and held on the table with thumb tacks. Food would remain on the table all day and the table would be covered with a huge linen tablecloth. A stack of plates was on the kitchen counter along with tableware and pie plates for desserts. After the meal, the table became an all day walk-in buffet. All the parents, aunts and uncles and other relatives brought favorite foods and desserts. The large table was an unforgettable sight with all those family favorite recipes. Adults always dined first and then the children. Wow! Things have really changed since the 1950s! All during the afternoon, family members and friends would sit on the porch and snack on food and desserts from the table or take naps. My grandma would take a nap because she had been up and running since 4:30 a.m.

Take time to enjoy food, family, togetherness

After reading the above paragraphs, you can see that Thanksgiving of yesteryear used to be much simpler and less complicated. In today’s 21st century, we need to get back to a much simpler lifestyle and take the time to enjoy life’s simple pleasures and the joys of everyday events. There are so many blessings all around us that we seem to take for granted or have become unaware of. Take precious time on this Thanksgiving, a special time to enjoy family, relatives and special friends in this year of Thanksgiving 2022. Who knows what another year will bring?

The Pilgrims Thanksgiving in year 1623

In the year 1620, 14 of the 18 women who came over on the Mayflower died that winter. Next spring, the ship, “Fortune” arrived at Plymouth with 44 new arrivals and short on supplies, food and clothing. This taxed the already short supply of food for the Pilgrims. Gov. Bradford had to enforce daily rations because they had to supply the Fortune with rations for their return voyage to England. The year of 1621 became a year of food shortage for the Pilgrims. The year of 1623 was a challenging year for them. After the corn was planted, there was no rain for weeks and the corn was stunted. Gov. Bradford called for a fast and prayer on a certain day. That fast lasted for nine hours. Next day, a rain fell and it rained for 14 days. It was what Gov. Bradford called “a gentle rain.” The corn quickly recovered. The governor called for a day of Thanksgiving, not a feast but a July day of returning thanks for the beautiful corn harvest. Never taking the blessings of God lightly. “Bless the Lord, O my soul and an that is within me bless His holy name.” Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not his benefits.” (Psalm 103: 1 and 2.)

Best wishes and a wonderful Thanksgiving to all our readers of the Garden Plot in Mount Airy News, Stokes News, and the Yadkin Ripple. We wish you all abundant joy, good health, and all the blessings of God’s love and care.

Pumpkin pie for week of Thanksgiving

Pumpkin pie is great in autumn and really traditional at Thanksgiving. There are more recipes for pumpkin pies than any other. This one is very good and simple to prepare. You will need three cups of canned pumpkin, one cup of sugar, half cup light brown sugar, one fourth teaspoon salt, three tablespoons plain flour, one and a half teaspoons pumpkin pie seasoning, two lightly beaten eggs, one teaspoon vanilla extract and one can evaporated milk. Mix pumpkin, brown sugar sugar, salt, flour and pumpkin spice. Add beaten eggs to the mixture and mix well. Add evaporated milk and vanilla extract. Mix well and pour into two unbaked 9-inch pie shells. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until firm. For a topping (optional), mix one cup light brown sugar, half cup plain flour and half stick melted light margarine. Mix well and spread on pies.

By November, the crops were in, the hog was killed, the tobacco was sold and (after being broke all summer) we had money again. To celebrate, Mama fired up the wood cook stove and invited kinfolks in for a Thanksgiving Day Dinner.

On the big day, they came by the car loads; drooling with anticipation, and why? They knew nobody left Mama’s table hungry. The house was jam-packed and with so many people talking at the same time, you could not hear yourself think. Even so, I learned what a good crop year it had been, who grew the biggest hog, how bad the winter would be, whose car pulled Bate’s Hill in high gear, who wound up in jail, what for and who had “the best derned’ fox hound on God’s Green Earth, and that was just the men folks.

I’d had nothing to eat for at least a week (seemed to me) and was just about to “meet my Maker,” when Mama said, “Come and get it, you all.” Never would you believe the variety of foods she had laid out on the eatin’ table: fried chicken, ham, white-sop gravy, green beans, pinto beans, cornfield peas, cornbread, mashed ‘taters, baked sweet ‘taters, lemonade, Kool Aid, perked coffee, pumpkin and apple pies, cakes to write home about and her special biscuits that floated in the air, I swear. Once again, she had done herself good.

The men-folks ate “first table,” while the kids ate anywhere they could. Everybody “put it down the hatch” like there would be no tomorrow and when “full to the brim,” they cleared out and the women folks “took their turn.” When they “ate their fill,” they cleaned up, washed the dishes and talked about how good little Jimmy was doing in school, who sewed the best quilt, who canned what for winter, swapped recipes and gossiped about the women not there.

Meanwhile, back to the men. With bellies now full, they smoked, chewed, dipped, took a little nip from a fruit jar hidden out back and told big lies that were sworn to be the Gospel truth. The younger kids? They played hide and seek, cowboys and Indians and ran wild in the woods. The older girls primped in front of the mirror and talked about boys, while the older boys “rolled their own” cigarettes out behind the barn, cussed and talked about girls. Me? Never had I seen the like and I took it all in.

Late in the day, everybody loaded up, headed for home and all agreed, “It had been the best Thanksgiving Day Dinner ever” and come next year, they would do it all over again. Me? It was a sad ending to a perfect day; a day that would not be coming back for a whole year. If I had my way, every day would be Thanksgiving day.

It all began with a City council meeting inviting merchants and towns people to weigh in on a new Main Street plan. This plan was put together by Benchmark Planning out of Charlotte. The room was full and people were standing in the hallways. Many lined up to oppose the plan, 18 to be exact. Fifteen spoke against the plan and three spoke in favor of the plan. After looking at the renderings of the plan, and seeing the changes proposed for Main Street. I myself made an appeal.

To everyone’s surprise, the mayor brought the plan to the floor for a vote, and the plan was approved 3-2. When this happened, two-thirds of the people walked out in shock.

What followed was a plan devised to save Main Street. Many merchants banded together to plan a peaceful march down Main Street and to start a petition to bring attention to this situation.

What then followed was another town council meeting. Appeals were once again made and the majority of the town council resorted to accusing us, who opposed the Main Street plan, of spreading misinformation. We were called nay sayers, doomsday prophets, fear mongers, and a few other hurtful names.

Meantime we had our peaceful Save Our Main Street Walk. A walk that began with prayer and ended with a nice discussion from concerned citizens and merchants.

Jon Cawley, Deborah Cochran, John Pritchard and Gene Rees attended our walk and listened to our concerns, which was most appreciated.

Fast forward to the next town council meeting. At this meeting three of us again appealed to the council. I addressed the council with my concerns of the changes proposed for Main Street. I quoted directly from the plan concerning “flex space” created by using movable bollards and following a “cookie cutter” design originating in large cities like Asheville, Seattle, New York, and Brooklyn. Also I quoted from the plan the concerns I have about Main Street becoming another Market Street, in which the plan mentions outdoor dining and extended late night hours for entertaining purposes.

Martha Truskolaski, owner of the Spotted Moon gift shop, presented our petition to “Save Main Street” to the council. The petition contained over 1,000 names representing merchants, towns people, and visitors from over 300 cities, including Mexico and Canada. People signed our petition to express their feelings about our Main Street. They were genuinely concerned about these changes. Upon presenting our petition to the mayor, his comment was, “This is impressive. “

So where are we now? It’s election time and time to choose who will lead us forward, so who do we choose?

Ron Niland, a nice man, an incumbent, a true politician, evidenced by these comments: “My philosophy of leadership is of building the atmosphere that encourages our board to discuss our opinions and move forward when it benefits our community.”

Example: support of the 3-2 vote in favor of passing the Main Street plan by city council, when many attending were opposed and upset.

Or, Jon Cawley, a nice man with a low profile approach, concerned , and willing to listen, as evidenced by these comments: “The first responsibility of a leader is to define the present reality. The last responsibility is to say ‘Thank you.’ Everything in between is about serving people.:

Example: (He) voted against (the) Main Street plan when he observed the unrest of many merchants and towns people at the town hall meeting.

As Jon Cawley said concerning the Main Street plan. “It was obvious that the public was not ready for it, which the commissioners had the power to act on or not.” Holding the vote then was a poor decision on our part.” I couldn’t say it better myself.

The choice is now yours. May I ask that you prayerfully consider your choice?

Two thousand people packed the bleachers at Mount Airy’s Floyd Poore Park for a chilly October homecoming game in 1952. It had been a rough year for the Bears as injuries took out critical players and the losses piled up. Their hopes of a shot at the Class AA conference title had died the week before.

Local legend, Coach Wally Shelton, was pragmatic as ever when he told a Mount Airy News reporter, “We’d like to win this one.”

The team had four games left in the season, but this was the final home game. The team was also set to lose a class of strong players as Dick Belton, Sonny Cashwell, Bill Gruble, Frank Kurtz, Hugh Talley were seniors.

The crowd was excited. Mineral Springs was known for its aerial game, but the Bears had Belton and Cashwell, a duo that seemed charmed in game after game as the ball repeatedly found its mark. And the injuries seemed to be behind them.

The News favored Mount Airy 21-13. They were wrong.

The Granite Bears, with a defensive line on its best game and offense in overdrive would fight their way to a 39-12 victory.

The energy from the home crowd must have been a real boost that night. Football is king on Friday nights. And homecoming games in particular draw more than just family and friends as people often make special effort to show up that week.

The game is just the beginning because Homecoming, of all sporting events, has its own royalty; the Homecoming Queen and her attendants.

In the ‘40s and ‘50s at least, that court of young ladies was chosen by the members of the football team. Then the girls, themselves, voted which of them would be queen. The museum holds several photos of girls so chosen: Ivylyn Sparger, Beulah High, 1946; Yvonne Vaughn, Mount Airy High, 1957; Maxine King, JJ Jones High, 1962, Joy Dale Simmons, East Surry High, 1968.

Broad smiles, arms cradling a bouquet of flowers, sometimes a crown crafted of aluminum foil, they embody an ideal of smalltown wholesomeness and joy.

But beyond the game and the dance, Homecoming is a loaded word with so many meanings.

The mayor of Raleigh put out a call for all North Carolinians who had moved away to come to the “Home-Coming Jubilee and Reunion” at the 50th State Fair in October 1910.

“Thousands … have migrated to all parts of the country,” said the Mount Airy News article. “This state has played a great part in the winning of the west and in the development of all sections….People from the Old North State have set their mark everywhere but have never lost their love for their mother state.”

In 1919, as the unspeakable horrors of World War I ground to a close and sons, husbands, and brothers began to return, the Red Cross organized parades, community picnics, and band concerts to celebrate. Dressed in their uniforms and marching in formation, Surry’s levy of returning military personnel moved down Main Street as flags and bunting fluttered in the breeze and residents turned out to cheer their return.

On a smaller scale, homecomings have been organized in churches for 200 years. Sometimes they have been an annual call for parishioners to return once the summer labor in the field was done or to bring families back to a routine now that summer vacations were over. Sometimes they are used for a special occasion such as a significant anniversary celebration when members who’ve moved from the area are invited ‘home’ to celebrate with their spiritual family.

And, perhaps the warmest use of the phrase is something that is an African-American tradition. Homecoming (or Home-going) celebrations when a loved one passes away mark the sunrise and sunset of their days and generally include a celebration of the person’s life and impact as was the case for Lurenda Ellen Moore Berry.

“She was a respected church and community leader known for her kindness, creativity, generosity and wonderful cooking skills. Every visitor was a welcomed guest with whom she shared food, wisdom and encouragement.”

The program from her Homecoming details all she did in the Pinnacle community and in her own family, helping to raise her siblings after her parents died, her own family, and children she adopted.

“She strongly believed in the adage, ‘Let the life I’ve lived speak for me.”

As you read about the lady you are left with a sure sense that she truly had a homecoming.

I hope that wherever you find your Homecoming this year and as we look toward the holidays, that it is a good one filled with warmth and the love of home.

Kate Rauhauser-Smith is a volunteer for the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History with 22 years in journalism before joining the museum. She and her family moved to Mount Airy in 2005 from Pennsylvania where she was also involved with museums and history tours.

The royal beauty of autumn pansies

Plenty of color from mid-autumn and all the way through the winter is the beauty that pansies provide. An array of colors from lavender, cream, purple, wine yellow, orange, white, tan, bronze, burgundy and pink and combined with plenty of dark glossy green foliage to add more contrast to their colors. Pansies are tough as well as winter hardy and they produce floral beauty no matter how cold the weather gets. They will produce blooms even when snow falls. In the cold of late November and all through the winter, limit the amount of water you use on them because this will cause potting medium to freeze in the containers. Many hardwares, garden centers, nurseries, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Ace Hardware have plenty of the pansies in stock and in full bloom. Use a few handfuls of peat moss in the potting medium when planting pansies to promote moisture retention. Buy a bag of pansy booster to give pansies a great start. Pansies are available in six- and nine-packs and come in assorted colors and varieties. They can be planted on the porch or deck. Water lightly once every week.

November prime time for Christmas cactus

The semi-sunny living room is now getting ready to glow with the colors of red, white, pink and coral of the Christmas cactus plants in full bloom. You can purchase Christmas cactus in full bloom at Food Lion, Lowe’s Foods, Harris Teeter, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement and at most nurseries. You can purchase them in small or medium containers. After you bring them home and they finish their bloom cycle, you will need to transplant the cactus to a larger container to promote long term growth. Buy a bag of Miracle-Gro citrus and cactus medium to start the cactus off for many seasons of growth. If you already have a Christmas cactus, you can root a cactus to share with friends and relatives. Just cut off a piece of the foliage and place it in a 16-ounce clear soft drink bottle and keep the bottle filled with water and place the bottle in a semi-sunny location inside the home. In six to eight weeks it will produce a root system and can be transplanted to a container of cactus medium. Always use cactus medium for better results and continued growth.

The perennial beauty of coral bells

The holy season of Christmas will be ringing its way in next month and the coral bells ring in all four seasons of the year from the front porch and back deck. They have beautiful foliage that covers their containers. Several times during the summer they produce red “bells” on long stems. You can also purchase coral bells in a purple color. The red is prettier but the purple is a lot tougher as well as bushier but both perform well through all four seasons.

Enjoy the crisp November calm

Splendor rides on the crisp breezes of November. It is certainly a time of calm as nature is in a slow down mode as we see the subtle signs that winter is slowly approaching — the Carolina blue skies, puffy marshmallow clouds and the soft sound of the leaves falling on the lawn. Brown leaves form a new carpet on the lawn. The birch trees are empty and leaving their silver gray trunks bare and glowing against a background of dark green red heart cedars, short leaf pines and honeysuckle vines that highlight the Piedmont woodlands. It is surely a time to enjoy the calm and crisp, fresh air of the days of November, frosty mornings and natural quietness.

The season of Dark Thirty is here

Daylight Savings Time has departed for another year and darkness comes an hour earlier each evening and we are still losing a minute of daylight each evening and will continue to do so until Dec. 21. It is always more difficult to get used to losing that hour of daylight. Winter is five weeks away, but losing that hour of daylight will make it seem much closer.

This has been the week of All Saints Rest

Since last Wednesday, Aug. 2, the week of All Saints Rest has been celebrated. The Swedish immigrants in New England used the first week in November as a time to rest at the end of the harvest. This would probably be the last few days before New England’s cold weather would set in. This would be a few day’s rest before the chores of the up and coming winter. Americans could learn a worthwhile lesson from these Swedish ancestors and take advantage of a few days rest before the rush of the Christmas season begins. We need to reflect on this Thanksgiving season and God’s blessings upon us. We need to be careful and not be overwhelmed by materialism and commercialism of the Christmas season, but rest and relax and concentrate on the blessings of the past year.

Some weather lore for Saint Martin’s Day

Saint Martin’s Day will be Friday, Nov. 11. On his day, it is said that we will have cold weather this winter if the leaves are still hanging on the grapevines and trees. We do know the grapevines have lost their leaves but the mighty oaks are hanging on to many of their leaves. Many of them will fall by Thanksgiving and some may just hang on for a cold Saint Martin’s winter (heaven forbid!)

Lime pellets great for November lawn

As the temperatures of November get cooler, it is a great opportunity to apply a layer of lime pellets to the late autumn lawn. Lime pellets perform well on the lawns of late autumn. The frost, rains, and possible snowfall will aid in dissolving the pellets in the soil and prevent pellets from washing away. A heavy snow will soak the pellets deep in the soil.

Ice forming in the November birdbath

Frosty November mornings bring a layer of ice to the birdbaths. As the sun warms things up a bit empty the ice and refill the bird bath with fresh water. Fill the feeders also and the birds will continue to visit the lawn every day.

Harvest mixes for Thanksgiving candy dish

The center of the dining room table can be adorned with a dish of November harvest candy such as Hershey’s harvest Kisses in autumn colors, old fashioned candy com, harvest M&M’s, creme pumpkins, and Indian candy corn. Add a few jack-be-little pumpkins and several ears of Indian corn for a colorful Thanksgiving centerpiece.

Making a trip to the turnip patch

Nothing hints of autumn like turnips from the late autumn garden. The cool November nights promote growth of hefty turnips and the cool soil gives them extra sweetness. The turnips are reaching harvest stage. They are one of the easiest vegetables to prepare. Just wash and peel the turnips and dice into half inch chunks and you can stick a fork through them. Remove from heat, drain most of the water, add a stick of light margarine, salt and pepper (to taste), one tablespoon of sugar or two tablespoons of white Karo corn syrup and two teaspoons of Bacon-bits. Mash with a potato masher or mix with the mixer. Turnips make great leftovers and can be fried or microwaved.

Broccoli, cabbage and collards in fall garden

The cool soil in the November garden will cause the cole family of vegetables to thrive and turn the late autumn into a beautiful shade of emerald green. They perform well because in the cool November days, they have very few insect enemies. Feed them every three weeks with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Keep soil hilled up on both sides of the row. As soil grows colder, spread a layer of crushed leaves in middle of the rows.

A few warm days during November

Early November still has some warm days remaining. You can take advantage of them to continue to rake in the leaf harvest and adding them to the compost pile or bin.

“The heavenly way!” Church visitor: “So what denomination are you?” Minister: “I’m a Baptist.” Visitor: “So you’re one of the narrow minded bunch that believes you are the only group that is going to make it to heaven?” Minister: “I’m even more narrow-minded than that. I don’t believe all our group is going to make it!”

“All alike.” All husbands are alike. They have different faces so their wives can tell them apart!

The moon reached its first quarter on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Daylight Savings Time will end at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6. There will be a full moon on Tuesday, Nov. 8. This full moon will be named “Full Beaver Moon.” Election Day will be on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Veteran’s Day will be Friday, Nov. 11. The moon will reach its last quarter on Wednesday, Nov. 16. The new moon of November will occur on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 23. Thanksgiving Day will be Thursday, Nov. 24. The moon will reach its first quarter on Wednesday, Nov. 30, with November starting and ending with the moon in its first quarter phase.

Daylight Savings Time comes to an end

As of two o’clock am. Sunday, Nov. 6, Daylight Savings Time will end and we will return to standard time for the next six months and gain darker evenings and longer nights as well as shorter days. As the sun sets earlier, the temperature will begin to get more nippy each evening.

“Full Beaver Moon” will be November 8th

The full moon of November will occur on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 8. This moon will be named “Full Beaver Moon.” The full moon will rise over the eastern horizon and with Eastern Standard Time now in effect. It will be bright when it rises into a cold and hopefully very clear late autumn sky. Enjoy this moon before going to bed that evening.

Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.

Mount Airy City Schools (MACS) attracts families at a more consistent rate than most any other school district in the state. In a recent report by The Innovation Project (https://tipnc.org/), MACS had attracted more than 93% of its market share this year compared to 90.2% of their market share of families in 2020. This basically means that everyone that lives near MACS and has children is choosing our district to attend.

The state data is a good way to compare this percentage. Out of North Carolina’s students that could attend public schools, 77.7% do attend public schools. This is down from 79.4% in 2020. Public charter students account for 6.7% of all students, private schools also hold 6.5% of eligible students, and homeschool is up slightly from 8.3% of students in 2020 to 9.1% in 2022. So, MACS is about 16% higher than the state in attracting students to traditional public schools.

There are several reasons why families choose us. Academics are strong, workforce development is key, innovation makes us unique and different from anyone else, athletics are high performing, and the arts are required throughout the K-12 experience. These are a few of the reasons why we continue to attract students year after year. Once families are with us they rarely leave us which is a great indicator of our success. The number one reason our families choose us is our staff. Our teachers and administrators go the extra mile every day to make sure students’ needs are met and they create a winning culture.

Today, I plan to talk about the staff, academics and workforce development, innovation, athletics and the arts. Our staff is constantly improving and reflecting on its own leadership development. We have 15% of our eligible staff members working on the National Board Certification. This is a difficult certification that shows staff to be among the best in the nation. This portfolio of work helps staff members provide the best educational strategies and support for all students. Many of our staff members are working on master’s degrees in various areas along with several attaining their doctoral degree. When our EVAAS was made public last year 100% of our academic areas were in green or blue showing that our teachers were growing all students at a tremendous rate.

Workforce development is key. The state is developing the attributes all children should be able to demonstrate upon graduation. These attributes were developed in combination with industry. These attributes in a portrait of a graduate (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/operation-polaris/portrait-graduate) include adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, empathy, learners mindset and personal responsibility. MACS is developing our own matrix for what this would look like in each grade level. For example, as ninth graders all of our students take a financial literacy course that teaches students personal responsibility in finance. The topics covered range from economics, personal finance, income and education, money management and financial planning. This course is required for graduation as well as a requirement for our students to take career and technical courses in high school. Each school will have various ways to teach this graduate skills.

Athletics are high performing in our district because of the consistency of our athletic directors and coaches. We currently are leading the conference in all fall sports at the high school level. For instance, volleyball has won the conference tournament for the second straight year in a row. Families know that athletics teach students life skills such as developing strong team work, growing leadership skills, and communicating well with others. There is a place for all athletes within our school system from golf, to cross-country, to tennis, to soccer and everything in between. We believe the 20 sports we offer allows all talents and abilities a chance to compete. Having a winning culture with sports is reflective of your overall programs in a school and shows us why many families choose us.

We are known across the state for innovation, which is creating new and different solutions to problems that help benefit students. We have a dual-language immersion program, Chinese language and culture program, North Carolina Association for Scholastic Activities (NCASA) competitions at middle school as well as the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program at high school. Our new sustainable agriculture program has baby quails that will help students understand sustainability through animals, along with our goals to have students learn to grow their own food. We want to create a variety of choices for students and help everyone succeed. Families love our menu of options when comparing schools to attend.

The arts are required for our students from kindergarten through high school with arts being part of the elective rotation K-5 as well as after school programs available such as Melody Makers. Once students rise to the middle school level they have the opportunity to take middle school chorus, band, and visual arts. The high school requires arts credits as part of a comprehensive curriculum that develops well-rounded young adults. Our program offerings of band, chorus, theater, and visual arts have many pathways for students to pursue. Since I was the band director for over a decade here in the system it is near and dear to my heart. Many of our graduates go on to have careers in the arts.

The multiple programs, success academics, workforce development, innovation, athletics, arts, and amazing staff all work together to create an option that nearly 100% of our community is choosing. At an age where school choice gives parents the most options with homeschool, charter, and private, our community is still choosing traditional public. We will forever be grateful for the support of our community that provides us amazing resources to develop a private school feel in a public school setting. We know why families choose MACS; find out how your child can join the winning team by visiting www.mtairy.k12.nc.us.

For families wishing to better understand what MACS has to offer them and for current families wishing to see what is found at the next school, visit https://bit.ly/AboutMACS21-22 There you will find a brochure highlighting many opportunities found in our system. Anyone wishing to schedule a tour can visit http://bit.ly/MACStour.

The foothills of North Carolina are a treasure trove of mystery and excitement for many who pass through them. These paths are where nature and history collide in the best ways. Growing up among the hills holds some of my fondest memories, outings downtown, playing in creeks, and so much more sprinkle my memories.

One of the places I treasured visiting the most was the two-story granite art “deco” United States Post Office in Mount Airy. The majestic double staircase leads guests into a foyer that could come straight out of the silver screen. The floral bronze grills grace the tops of the ornate post office boxes that hold mail for citizens, but for a child, they were gateways of mystery.

Aside from the beauty and mystery, this post office holds a lot of history. The lot at the southwest corner of South Main and Pine streets once held the Jenkins hotel. The hotel operated from the 1910s to 1920s, but by 1922 the Fire Insurance Sanborn Maps showed the lot empty. A small filling station sat within the lot that is now the post office parking lot.

Before being placed on South Main, the Mount Airy post office was housed in different locations throughout the city. One source suggests that Mr. Perkins’ Hotel, known as the Blue Ridge Hotel later, received the mail for a time. It then was potentially moved to Laurel Bluff and back to South Main.

In January 1932, plans were reviewed by Postmaster J.B Sparger for a new and elaborate post office. For over a decade before these plans, the town of Mount Airy had been vying for a more modern facility. The architect who won out was George Berryman of Raleigh. Construction companies bid on the job with Algernon Blair of Montgomery, Alabama. securing the job with a bid of $98,000. The land was purchased for $25,000 by the government leaving $130,000 of the $155,000 budget left for the building itself.

Originally the building was only supposed to be faced with the native Mount Airy granite, but citizens petitioned the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., to amend the plans. Main Street was growing and more streets were being opened up and developed, the town wanted the post office to stand as a monument of the granite city. The petition was approved and granite was set to encapsulate the new structure, raising the final construction price tag to $125.000.

On Oct. 3, 1932 a program was held to lay the cornerstone for the new post office. The time capsule holds the names of officials, officers, club members, and other important documents. Civil War veteran Colonel Z.T Smith placed the copper box in the structure, with J.D Sargent, president of the NC Granite Corporation, sealing it in place. The building was finished by 1933, with offices on the second floor and space to grow.

The Mount Airy United States Post Office has resided at 111 South Main street for 89 years. Next time you are downtown, stop by the site and take in its historic grandeur, you won’t be sorry you did.

Emily Morgan is the guest services manager at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. She and her family live in Westfield. She can be reached at eamorgan@northcarolinamuseum.org or by calling 336-786-4478 x229

Halloween and frost on the pumpkin

The season of Halloween is only two days from now. The autumn air has that certain nip that is traditional as Halloween draws near. We have had several frosts to kick off Halloween and the autumn lawn has a carpet of leaves on it. The green of the lawn is beginning to have a brownish tint highlighting it. Soon we will have the first killing frost and some hard freezes. We have had several scattered frosts but none that are considered “killing frosts.” The frosts that knock out the warm weather garden usually occur in mid-November. We are getting scattered frost that sweetens the collards and a dusting on the rooftops. It will not harm the pumpkins and there are plenty of them this year.

Bringing in the late tomato harvest

Before a killing frost arrives gather all the green tomatoes from the vines and wrap them in sheets of newspapers and place them in box lids or shallow boxes and store them in a warm dry area and cover with whole newspaper sections. Check them once a week for ripeness. If you have a lot of room in the basement you can leave green tomatoes on the vines and hang them on the joists in the basement ceiling to ripen there. Check them often and harvest them as they ripen.

Celebrate Halloween by placing a pumpkin crisp on the table for the night of Halloween. This crunchy dessert has simple ingredients and contains plenty of pumpkin. You will need two cups of fresh or canned pumpkin, one large can of evaporated milk, one cup sugar, half cup light brown sugar, one tablespoon McCormick pumpkin spices, one tablespoon vanilla extract, two sticks light margarine, three beaten eggs, one box yellow cake mix, half cup chopped pecans, one teaspoon orange extract. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan with Crisco Shortening and then flour the pan. Line the pan with a sheet of waxed paper. Spray the waxed paper with Pam baking spray. Mix the pumpkin, white sugar, light brown sugar, pumpkin pie spices, vanilla extract, orange extract and beaten eggs. Mix all these ingredients together. Spread the box of cake mix over the pumpkin mixture and spread it out to cover the pumpkin. Sprinkle the pecans and golden raisins over the dry cake mix. Drizzle the two sticks of melted margarine over the dry cake mix. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Cool the cake completely. Turn cake from pan onto a cookie sheet or a cake board. The layer of pecans and raisins becomes the bottom crust. Frost the crisp with this topping: one eight ounce box of cream cheese, two cups of 1ox powdered sugar, one cup of Cool Whip, one teaspoon vanilla extract.

A bowl of witches brew

You can make this unusual brew for a harvest festival or Halloween carnival. It is tasty and unusual because of its purple color and taste. Make this punch in a large pot or a canner and serve it from a punch bowl. For this recipe, mix three envelopes of Crystal Light Concord grape powdered drink mix, one bottle Welch’s grape juice, one 46 ounce can pineapple juice, one 46 ounce can of water. Two 2-liter bottles of Fanta grape soda, two 2-liter bottles of Sprite (regular or diet). To serve the brew, mix half the punch base mixed with half Fanta and half Sprite. Use this formula to prepare the brew as it is replenished. Make an ice ring or two the night before by mixing two quarts of water in a pitcher and pouring it into a tube pan and freezing overnight. Run a little warm water over bottom of tube pan to loosen the ice ring from the pan. You can also freeze a bottle of grape Fanta to make ice rings. If you would like a clear ice ring, use bottles of Sprite.

Chicken stew on an October night

Chicken stew does not have to be prepared in a black iron pot to be enjoyed. You can make it for your household in an eight-quart pot. A great chicken stew can be prepared in your kitchen. You will need six or eight bone-in chicken breasts boiled until tender. Bone-in breasts are better because it makes a broth for the stew. When the chicken is done, remove the skin and bones; return the broth and chicken to the pot, and add a little more water to the broth and boil until meat begins to shred (this causes chicken to be in every bite of the stew.) When the chicken reaches this stage, add four sticks of light margarine and allow it to simmer for four or five minutes. Add two cans of evaporated milk and six cups of Vitamin D whole milk (nothing low-fat here!). Simmer for four or five minutes on medium low heat. Add two cans of chicken gravy and simmer four or five minutes. Add one teaspoon pepper, two teaspoons of salt, two teaspoons of McCormick poultry seasoning. Taste and add more of these seasonings to stew if desired. Keep the heat on medium low and mix a glass of cold water with four or five teaspoons of corn starch and stir until it is milky. Add a little at a time until stew reaches the thickness you are satisfied with. If stew is too thick add milk or water.

Pansies are flowers with a personality

Colorful jewels of the porch and deck during autumn and winter months are the pansies that have faces that resemble the face of a poodle. Pansies are tough and winter hardy. Along with their colorful flowers they feature dark evergreen foliage that enhances their flowers. They are tough enough to produce flowers when snow is on the ground. Pansy plants are available now and all the months of autumn and winter. They will produce flowers and foliage until early spring. They come in colors of burgundy, purple, lavender, pink, white, bronze and tan. They can be planted in rows, beds, pots and containers. Use Flower-Tone organic flower food, pansy booster and peat moss mixed with potting medium to get pansies on their way to a long and colorful autumn and winter and brighten winter bushes.

Still time to plant spring bulbs

There is still plenty of time to set out the spring bulbs of jonquil, hyacinth, crocus, daffodil, narcissus, tulips and snowdrops. They can be set out from now until the ground freezes. Place the bulbs root down in a furrow or hole about six to eight inches deep. Place a layer of peat moss in the bottom of the furrow or hole. Place bulbs root-side down and apply another layer of peat moss. Place a layer of Bulb Booster or bone meal on the peat moss and cover with of top soil and potting medium. Before the ground freezes cover the row or bed with a layer of crushed leaves. Water lightly once each week.

Setting out ornamental kale and cabbage

Ornamental cabbage and kale can add color to the winter porch in the dead of winter and all they need is a little layer of protection from the extremes of winter freezes. Keep a couple of towels handy and cover the cabbage and kale at night to keep them from freezing. Keep containers of cabbage near the rear of the porch. Ornamental cabbage come in colors of purple, pink, cream, lavender mint green and yellow. You can plant them in containers that summer annuals were growing in. Feed with Flower-Tone organic flower food each month and lightly water weekly.

Thunder at this time of the year is not that unusual, most of the time when thunder is heard in late autumn, it is short-lived and not severe. The humidity is low and the sound of thunder is caused by instability in the air. During the final days of hurricane season, we may have some thunder and lightning with these systems.

“A cocky situation.” Customer: “Do you have any cockroaches?” Sporting goods store owner: “Yes, I sell them to fishermen.” Customer: “I would like to purchase 20,000 of them.” Store owner:”What do you want with 20,000 cockroaches?” Customer: “I’m moving tomorrow and my lease says I must leave the condo in the condition it was in when I moved there.”

“A full tank citizen.” Citizen: “Hello, is this the city gas works?” Mayor: “No, this is the mayor’s office.” Citizen: “I didn’t miss it by much, did I?”

“Nay, Nay!” “About the only thing right you get from the horse’s mouth is his laugh!”

As a former teacher, I’m saddened by results of recent data showing the effects of the pandemic on student learning. It’s not that children have lost learning — rather, they simply need the opportunity and resources to acquire necessary skills. This is the crucial moment when teachers need more resources and support than ever before. It is a moment when political parties need to move beyond partisan attacks to put children first.

Local politicians are parroting divisive TV hate speech, saying “I will continue to stand four square against… social justice equity… the radical woke left.” They are promoting a conservative party idea that social justice is a bad thing.

Citizens of Surry County, wake up! In our community right here, don’t we all desire a just society in which to educate our children? Don’t we believe every child deserves to be educated? Our democracy depends on it. Life-long lessons and the pursuit of truth are at stake here, for all children, not just children who happen to be born into one particular political party.

A lot happened during the pandemic — long time politicians right here in Surry County were taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in PPP handouts ostensibly to help their businesses through “hard times” — but was it really that hard? And teachers? What were they doing? They were left in the trenches using their limited stimulus checks to buy daily necessities. Shame on those greedy politicians. They worked the system then, and they’re working it still with their hate-filled rhetoric and one goal in mind — political power.

It’s time to tamp down TV’s linguistic violence that acts to poison our relationships with one another, especially in the minds of the uninformed. It’s time to support candidates who are open-minded, unaffiliated with a political party who promise to work toward what is in the best interests of all children and all Surry County citizens.

In today’s world, there is no limit to the resources available to people for sourcing information and the news. There are various social media platforms where we can allow ourselves to go into an echo chamber and only follow, read, and subscribe to people, outlets, and sources that we believe are telling the truth, isolating ourselves from the points of view of others.

We have friends and family members that we discuss the news with. We have cable to watch local, national, and international news. We have the radio and, my personal favorite, podcasts. I left one source out because this is what I wanted to discuss today. It is no surprise to anyone that our country has become incredibly polarized, but it seems to have hit our small-town newspaper as well. Many people in our community rely on the newspaper as their local news source. Biased reporting seems to be at play and it is particularly critical to have access to accurate reporting around election time.

The same reporter has been reporting on the town council meetings for a long time. I have noticed as of late, the newspaper has been reporting polarized and negative views of these meetings with very little or no mention of the positive. This past Saturday (Oct. 22), an article was written with the title, “Downtown petitions draw 1,000-plus signatures.”The first two words of the article were, “citizen unrest.” I was not able to attend the meeting in person Thursday, but was able to watch it on The City of Mount Airy’s Facebook page. There was no unrest.

In fact, it was an incredibly constructive meeting where all but three citizens spoke about all of the positives of our downtown. They spoke about how businesses, old and new alike, are thriving. Mount Airy has come from the brink of a “ghost town,” like most downtowns in the 80s and 90s, to an admirable town that is pointed to as an example of rejuvenation across the state.

If I had not watched the meeting, reading the title and those first two words would have caused me to believe it was a contentious meeting. How are our residents supposed to know what is happening when there seem to be so many inaccuracies in our local paper? I realize an article was written three days after the fact highlighting the positives, but the damage was already done. People remember what they read the first time. Especially when there’s a flair for the dramatic.

It’s sad to say that this polarization and repeated spreading of misinformation is not only coming from our local newspapers, but our candidates running for public office. One candidate, in particular, praised MAD (Mount Airy Downtown Inc.) at the council meeting on Thursday, but is also a member of the movement that wants to, “save downtown Mount Airy.” He has been a supporter even posting in a now-deleted post to the group’s Facebook page saying that the people that visit, “love Mount Airy just the way it is, and so do we!!!”

He was also quoted in the Mount Airy News on Tuesday saying, “If I had been the mayor, I would have publicly corrected the misinformation that was being spread and avoided the unnecessary vote by the commissioners after the public hearing,” (Candidates split on downtown plan).

Which is it? How can you praise the work MAD has done in one breath, and then claim to want to “save” downtown from the work you just praised?

His job as commissioner is also to correct misinformation. If he can’t be trusted to fulfill that job requirement as a commissioner, why should he be trusted to follow through as mayor? That’s akin to not being able to run a cash register, but thinking you’re qualified to be the shift supervisor. Causing fear and division is a political tactic that is being used to win an election. In my opinion, that is not the type of leader I want for my community, state, or country.

I’ll say this again, change is the only constant in life. It’s how we prepare for it that is most important. Coming together as a community moving forward, not backward. We deserve that, our children deserve that, and the generations to come to do as well.

For those of us who grew up in these mountains, there was never a doubt about where our next meal was coming from — be it meat, vegetables or fruit — it either came from garden, the fields or the hog pen. We’ve come a long way since and seldom do we even think about where our food comes from. We just mosey down to the local super market and choose our fancy from a wide variety of foods from all over the world, available all year long. Being an old timer who knows the score, let me say, “Things were not always that way.”

When I was a young pup growing up, every family I knew (come spring of the year) bought a young pig that had to be “slopped” twice a day. It was also fed corn and other foods the whole summer long and by late fall, it had grown into a huge fat hog that could hardly walk; the fatter the better. Why? The more fat, the more lard, which folks used for cooking every day of the year. Nobody wanted a skinny hog at hog-killing time

Came a frosty November morn’, Pa built a roaring fire under the scalding vat full of water. When it got hot, he shot the hog with a .22 rifle, (one bullet right between the eyes) and cut its throat with the butcher knife to “bleed it out.” (While all that was going on, I found other things to do in other places.)

We then loaded the hog onto the sled, hauled it to the vat, rolled it into the hot water to scald it so the hair would loosen, then scraped it off with butcher knives. Pa then inserted a hefty stick (sharpened at both ends) into the tendons of both back legs and with his “block and tackle,” hung the hog upside down from a tree limb, then he went to work.

Using his butcher knife, he split it open right down the middle, cleaned it out, washed it out, then lowered it to some planks on the ground. Then (with chopping axe and butcher knife) he whittled out hams, shoulders, back-bones and ribs, side-meat and tenderloin right there in broad daylight. He “salted down” most of the meat in the meat-box, but we ground some with a hand-powered meat grinder clamped to the kitchen table. Mama then seasoned it, fried it, canned it and it became canned homemade sausage stored in the cellar for winter time; some of the best food on God’s green earth.

On hog killing day, our whole hill smelled like raw meat and I could not bear the thoughts of eating anything that smelled that bad. At the end of the day, (tired and worn) we went to bed; thankful it was over, but knowing when winter time came, nobody would go hungry on our hill.

Come next morning, Mama cured the bad-smell problem with the smells of breakfast cooking on the wood cook stove; a stack of buckwheat pancakes yea’ high, white-sop gravy, home-grown eggs, “perked” coffee and best of all; fresh fried tenderloin; surely food from the gods. It was one of the few days of the year when nobody had to roust me out of bed; I hit the floor running, all by myself.

In II Chronicles 7:13-22, we see a list of requirements God gave to His people Israel; for Him to hear their prayers, forgive their sin, and bring them healing as a nation. These conditions for His help, and their reviving was dependent upon God’s people returning in obedience to God, their sovereign King.

I believe that if we, the people of God living here on this earth today, will hear and obey this same list of requirements; that we too can enjoy personal, community, and national revival. But will we hear and obey?

I believe that our God will chasten and correct us to the point of wanting to return to Him, if we don’t freely choose to. In other words, I believe He’ll make us want to fully return to Him; and want to let go of this corrupt old world. Let’s read, and heed the Holy Scriptures. “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence (plague or disease) among My people; If My people, which are called by My name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We’ll come back to the last verse shortly. God will have His way with His bride, the church. Ephesians 5:25-27 tells us, “Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

It’s evident and obvious that the church isn’t close to this virtuous character, and of chaste behavior toward her Lord right now. But, God will chasten, correct, and cleanse us; in order to perfect us; for our own good, and for His good pleasure.

You may ask, “How will God correct us?” Has anyone been observing the current events around our country, and around the globe lately? Our Scripture portion gave evidence of His correction through drought, crop failure, destroyed harvest, and plagues or disease.

Consider also these Scriptures dealing with the Lord using hurricanes (tempest), floods, tornadoes (whirlwind), earthquakes, wildfires, stormy wind, and hail, to turn us again to Him. (Job 37:9-13, 38:22-23, Psalm 46:1-3, 83:15-16, 148:8, Amos 4:6-9). And how about the C-virus or any of its variants? Hebrews 12:11-13 says, “Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: none the less, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness…Therefore…make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” Hosea 6:1-2, “ Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us.”

Doesn’t it seem odd that God would say, “My people, which are called by My name” need to “turn from their wicked ways.” This isn’t just about the Jews and the Old Testament. It applies also to so many professing New Testament Christians since the early days of the church.

Consider the letter to believers in James 4:8-9, “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.” And again, Jesus’ strong messages of warning and call to repentance to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2–3. Jesus said in Matthew 6:22-24, ”No man can serve two masters…Ye cannot serve God and mammon (the wealth of this world).”

God will not allow us to straddle this fence. We must choose, Him or the world. I John 2:15-17, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world…For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (To try to have both is spiritual adultery) And the world passes away, and the lusts there of; but he that does the will of God abides forever.”

Please read all this appeal to the church in II Corinthians 6:14-7:1, “…what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? … And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them; and I will walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

There are many idols in our times now, even as there were in those days. We even call them by that name: sports idols, movie, TV and music idols… Anything and anyone who receives our affections or adoration in competition with, or in place of the one true God is a false god; is an idol. Romans 12:1-2 pleads with us to “present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God…And be not conformed to this world (pressed and shaped to it’s mold): but be transformed” (by God). With His indwelling Spirit, we have full access to this beautiful change in character! The answer is to be in Christ. (II Cor. 5:17). The motive is our love for Him, Who is to be chosen above all else.

By our humbling ourselves, and praying, and seeking God’s face, and turning from the ways that God calls wicked, He then replies, “Now Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine ears attentive unto the prayer that is made in this place” (II Chronicles 7:15). Psalm 84:1-13, …”Turn us, O God of our salvation… Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?”

I attended the (Mount Airy) town council meeting on Thursday night. I have to say the council was much kinder to those of us who once again spoke up against certain aspects of the Main Street plan.

I again explained that my only concern was the look of Main Street. I quoted directly from the plan concerning the flex space design concept, which uses movable bollards allowing parallel parking and outdoor dining. I argued that this plan had been adopted by larger cities like Asheville, Seattle, West Palm Beach, New York City and downtown Brooklyn. I pointed out that this design would completely change the look of Main Street. I don’t want us to look like these cities mentioned in the plan. I’m afriad that we would lose our uniqueness and our charm.

I also quoted from the plan that suggests our Main Street becoming like Market Street. The plan states, “Market Street Arts and Entertainment District has been a success. However additional opportunities are needed for outdoor dining especially on Main Street.”

It goes on to say that businesses need to stay open longer hours on weekdays and weekends. It then suggests “that this would support outdoor dining and entertainment.” Isn’t it obvious, this would completely change Main Street and turn it into another Market Street? These are the reasons I oppose this plan. I also am not crazy about trees placed randomly on Main Street. It’s in the plan.

Yes, I do believe we need to work on the infrastructure that is wearing out. This includes water, sewer, and electrical. Clean up the side walks and reinforce the buildings that are aging. Other than that?

Preserve the small town charm that it has now and do not agree to a plan that adopts a cookie-cutter look for our beautiful Main Street.

A thousand names on a petition from over 350 different cities in the U.S (as well as Canada and Mexico,) agree with me. These people that visited Mount Airy loved the look of our town and couldn’t understand why we would want to change it.

I am happy to say that the council is at least listening to us. Just maybe a step in the right direction? We can only hope.

When my my husband and I visited this area a decade ago, we fell in love with the charm and the people who live in Mount Airy. I refer Mount Airy as an East Coast “Mini-Branson.” It is a familiar experience with lots of fun surprises that we look forward to everyday when we visit. Public relations and the visitor’s center in Mount Airy are awesome.

We invested in a house here and even though we visit from California a few times a year, we always leave a piece of our hearts here. This is our experience. My husband is the chair of the Historic Preservation Commission and I am on the Public Arts Commission in Escondido, California.

Over the 40 years we have lived on the West Coast we have seen what can happen in a negative way when outside firms tell shop owners what is best for their cities.

While there might be a few good points to the Vision like under grounding utilities and replacing water pipes, altering the width of travel for downtown should not even be considered.

Ted Budd is once again spreading disinformation in his campaign ads as he did previously in the Republican primary.

For example, he misleads everyone about the tax provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act which will not affect any family making less than $400,000 a year, will crack down on the most profitable corporations who currently pay little to no federal income tax, and go after tax dodgers and cheats to ensure that the wealthy and major corporations pay the taxes they owe.

No, Ted, most families will not see their taxes raised and the IRS will not audit and harass them as you claim.

The voters and the press should demand that Republicans running for office tell us all how they would handle challenges such as climate change, gun violence in our communities, inflation, and supply chain disruptions. And they should make sure they don’t trot out their discredited “good guys with guns,” “trickle-down,” economics and tax breaks for the wealthy as their vision for America.

Americans deserve a better answer than that.

Evenings of Indian summer bring sounds and smells

With chimneys belching the smell of oak logs and wet leaves from the maples emitting their autumn aroma, the low sounds of the crickets at twilight and the crows making their last calls of the day, as the sun goes lower on the horizon, there is a cool nip in the autumn air. These are all the signatures of the beauty, color, splendor and majesty of autumn.

Season of fall fests, harvest festivals and chicken stews

The old fashioned cake walks with prizes of homemade cakes, fish ponds, bingo games, costume contests, pumpkin decorating, door prizes, hot dogs, chicken stew and hayrides and haunted houses — it’s the season for that kind of fun, topped off with trick or treating for the kids. Keep the porch light on to signal that trick or treaters and parents are welcome at your home. Have plenty of wrapped treats. Make it a memorable time for kids, parents and grandparents.

Getting the Christmas cactus inside for the winter

As we near the final days of October, the time is here to move the Christmas cactus, panda and asparagus ferns inside the house to spend winter in a semi-sunny room. The secret of Christmas cactus blooms in late November is the time they spend outside all spring, summer and early autumn. Before moving these plants inside trim them back, add some extra potting medium to fill the containers and add some Flower-Tone organic flower food. Use drip trays under containers to keep water off the floors and carpet. water lightly once a week.

Trimming evergreens as October comes to an end

Late October and early November is the time to trim and shape evergreens and also the best time to plant evergreens. They will not be dried out by the sun and will have a winter of snow and moisture to give them a great start. Every home needs some greenery in the form of evergreens. With the soon-approaching season of Christmas decorating, this is the opportune time to trim, shape, and plant evergreens.

Christmas cactus will soon be available

November will soon be here and the containers of Christmas cactus will be showing up in supermarkets, hardwares, florists, Home Depots, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Ace Hardware and nurseries. You can choose from red, white, pink, and coral. Most will have blooms on them so you can select the color you prefer. After they finish their bloom cycle, you will need to transplant the cactus into a larger container. Just purchase a larger container and a bag of Miracle-Gro cactus and potting medium and transplant the cactus into the larger container. You can also root Christmas cactus by placing a large sprig of foliage and using a clear plastic soft drink bottle (clear) and place the piece of foliage in the bottle of water and place in a semi-sunny location. When it develops a root system, transplant it into a medium container filled with cactus medium. Use cactus medium for healthier growth.

Making a macaroni and cheese salad

Macaroni and cheese salad is a great treat on the week of Halloween. The orange cheddar cheese and Thousand Island dressing make it a great table topper for the dining room. For this salad, you will need two cups of cooked elbow macaroni (drained), two cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, one cup Mount Olive sweet pickle relish, one two ounce jar diced pimentos (drained), six boiled eggs (diced) one cup diced onions, half cup olives, one teaspoon apple cider vinegar, three teaspoons thousand island dressing, one teaspoon catsup, half cup mayonnaise; half teaspoon pepper, one half teaspoon salt. Mix the cooked macaroni, cheddar cheese, diced eggs, pimentos, pickle relish chopped onions, olives and stir all of them together. Blend mayonnaise, vinegar, thousand island dressing, salt, pepper, catsup. Mix the dressing with the salad ingredients. Chill in the refrigerator several hours before serving.

Visiting Halloween candy treat aisles

Plenty of trick or treat items and candy dish fillers are featured at the supermarkets and other stores. Most of them have decorated displays. Make sure that all the treats you purchase are wrapped varieties for the candy dish. You can choose from Hershey’s miniatures, harvest M&Ms, York peppermint patties, Snickers, Hershey’s Autumn Kisses, Milky Way and Three Musketeers bars plus ‘creme pumpkins and Reese’s pieces. These are traditional Halloween favorites.

Pumpkin pie spice: a great seasoning mixture

All the spices for a pumpkin pie combined in one tin container is what McCormick pumpkin pie spices is all about. This product certainly makes it easier to prepare a pie without opening five or six containers of spice and doing all that measuring. When preparing pumpkin pies, apple pies and turkey dressing or Italian spaghetti, McCormick makes spices like Poultry Seasoning for dressing and fried chicken, Italian seasoning for spaghetti and other Italian dishes. Apple pie spices for apple pies and dumplings as well as pumpkin pie seasoning and sweet potato pies and casseroles.

Preserving autumn leaves for autumn displays

To preserve autumn leaves in all their color and glory, use a small can of bee’s wax and melt it in a small pan and dip each leaf in the wax; remove and place on a paper towel to dry. They can be used on the coffee table or dining room table or the mantel for Halloween and harvest decorations.

A pumpkin patch on the dining room table

From the days before Halloween and into the month of November, you can decorate the center of the dining room table with your own pumpkin patch. All you need are several Jack-be-Little pumpkins that cost a little more than a dollar each and a pound bag of Brach’s creme pumpkins and a few colorful autumn leaves dipped in bee’s wax and dried. Place the Jack-be-Littles around the leaves and spread creme pumpkins around the the display. Keep refilling the cream pumpkins as they are eaten.

Making your Jack o’ lantern spicy

As trick or treaters and parents come to your home, welcome them with a scent of pumpkin pie. All you need to do is apply two teaspoons of McCormick pumpkin pie spices to the inside walls of the jack o’ lantern, light the candle and replace the lid on the lantern. The heat from the candle will spread the aroma of the spices for a pumpkin pie perfume.

Plastic grocery bags and thick cardboard

These two items make great covers for the perennials and annuals on the front porch to thrive during winter extremes without much labor involved. Instead of cloths and towels, you can use insulated covers made from cardboard and plastic grocery bags to cover the plants each night and remove them the next day when temperatures rise. To construct these covers, glue several pieces of cardboard together measured to fit the tops of the pots and containers. Use scotch tape to tape five plastic grocery bags together and glue to the pieces of card board. The cardboard and combined plastic bags will provide insulation for the plants. Construct one for every plant you want to protect from freezing temperatures, The weight of the cardboard will protect from winter winds and the plastic bags will provide insulation. Remove each day so plants can benefit from the winter sun, but replace at night when temperatures drop.

Frost on pumpkin and Halloween both here

Halloween is almost here and frost has visited the pumpkins a few times. There have been a few frosts in the garden plot and the lawn shows some signs of tan and brown. Many leaves have left the trees and the furnace is flexing its muscles. The crisp autumn air has a feel of Halloween and we are sure the kids and grand kids are ready for a night of trick or treating. Make it a fun night for them by leaving your porch light on to welcome them. By the way, share a treat with these caring parents also.

All Saints Day will be on Tuesday

All Saints Day is celebrated on the day after Halloween and All Saints day is also known as “Hallowmass” In New England, the Swiss immigrants celebrated the whole week after All Saints Day as All Saints Rest and a time after the harvest to rest, relax, and reflect. Sounds like a quality way to live a long life.

“Wishful Thinking.” Wife: “You’re always wishing for something you haven’t got.” Husband: “What else is there to ask for?”

“Fashionable?” Husband: “I find your new evening gown rather confusing.” Wife: “Why do you think so?” Husband:”Well, are you inside trying to get out, or outside trying to get in?”

“Nappy Time” Doctor: “You say you have not been able to sleep well?” Patient: “I sleep fine during the night, but during my afternoon naps, I just can’t keep my eyes closed.”

A huge thumbs up to the scores of city employees who contributed to the resounding success of this year’s Autumn Leaves Festival, hosted by the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce. As a result of the collaborative efforts of city employees from all departments – police, fire, rescue squad, public works (especially the streets division), etc. – the spirit of the ‘Mayberry’ community was on full display and appreciated by all.

The only sour note – and one deserving a solid thumbs down — was evidenced by lame-duck Commissioner Joe Zalescik who, apparently for his own selfish purposes, appropriated a block of parking spaces in the parking lot next to the Post Office – including two legally-designated and clearly identified handicapped parking spaces and their accompanying and well-marked access aisles for van accessibility.

On the opening day of the festival, Zalescik used the handicapped-designated spaces and others to strategically stage his Farmers Market vendor booth as close as possible to the heavy pedestrian traffic expected to pass by as festival-goers made their way along the city sidewalk, to reach the south-end of the event’s perimeter. It’s unfortunate that many physically-challenged individuals were denied their legitimate use of several handicapped parking spots that day so they could have conveniently and comfortably accessed the festival or the Post Office.

I’m wondering if Joe Zalescik’s appropriation of handicapped-designated spots that day was a one-off; or does he, every Friday, shamelessly put his personal peanut profits ahead of behaving as a thoughtful, considerate citizen, and city commissioner?

I have been reading all the pros and cons about changing Main Street in Mount Airy.

I would like to give my honest opinion. If it is indeed changed; how are handicappaed people — people in wheel chairs and walkers — going to get to Main Street? One parking lot that I know about is uphill trying to get to Main Street. I am in wheel chair – how am I ever going to maneuver my wheel chair when I have damage to legs and arms?

I don’t think the commissioners have thought about anyone but themselves with this change they are trying to make. What is wrong with people these days? Most only think aboaut themselves.

Please, please reconsider this proposed plan. If it goes through handicapped people will have to start shopping somewhere else – not downtown. You will lose a lot of customers.

Have you heard the saying, “if you don’t feel close to God anymore, guess who moved?” It’s always us: never Him. In general, I believe that much of the Church in our times today has lost her passion for Jesus; her love has gotten tepid, lukewarm.

In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Jesus charged the seven churches of that time, but also the symbolic churches of this present age. Jesus said, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm…I will spew thee out of My mouth, As many as I love, I rebuke, and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Rev.3:14-19). Jesus also said, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place” (Rev.2:4-5).

I point out, with three fingers and a thumb pointing back at me, that many Christians have at times gotten their eyes off our Lord, and are looking more at this world and its substance. We too often forget that our Savior has saved us from, and called us out and away from this world. It’s our old nature and carnal flesh that has an appetite for its pleasures. So I remind you, our redeemer has purchased us from this bondage, and unto Himself. Our Lord has called us to love Him; not love this world. (Mark 12:30, I John 2:15-17) Here then is a call to God’s church to fix our gaze back upon Him. Bride of Christ, keep your spiritual eyes of adoration upon the One Who is “altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16), Our “First love,” He who is worthy of our enthusiastic affection, and highest most loyal love.

II Chronicles 7:13-22, …”If My people, which are called by My name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Today we will study the third requirement God gives to you and I, to “Seek ye My face.” Our answer should be like David’s reply in Psalm 27:8, “When Thou hast said, seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” Just how do we seek God’s face? Well, how would you seek anyone’s face you love? You would search for them; you’d try to get in close proximity to them; you would set your vision in their direction and lock your eyes on them. Yes, God is invisible to us, but spiritually speaking, we can meet face to face; we can see His beauty. What I’m talking about is love; desire for our Beloved.

Psalm 42:1-2, “As the hart (deer) pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 63:6-8, “…My soul follows hard after Thee.” Hebrews 11:6 tells us, He rewards them that diligently seek Him. Diligently means to work hard at, to apply effort, to give much attention to. The opposite of our seeking the things of this world is seeking Him. Rather than our divided heart trying to split our love between this world and the Lord, our Lord wants to be sought after as the love of our life. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart”. It will take our time and our attention, it will take our “whole heart” to have this closeness with God, but there is the greatest reward for it! So, we make a choice. Let us now, for always choose Jesus.

In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus teaches us, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” He tells us not to set our affections on the temporal things of this world, but on the everlasting better things of Heaven: our home. We must remember often that we are just passing through this world. We are foreigners. We are pilgrims. Our home and our treasure is Jesus Christ. As the psalmist declared in Psalm 90:1, “Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations”. In 91:9 he also calls the Lord his habitation, meaning where he lives. Jesus invites us to enter into Him and stay. John 10:9, “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” , and John 15:4 & 11, “Abide in Me, and I in you… These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Only He can fulfill and complete us. The happiest ending our life story can have is intimate fellowship with Him, forever communing together as one.

Brothers and sisters, you who are in Christ; you who are called by His name, meditate long on this word of the Lord. Isaiah 57:15, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and lofty place, with him (or her) also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Lord Jesus, we turn our full gaze upon You, to seek Your face alone. Revive us unto Yourself again. Amen.

Set out spring flower bulbs

We are in the midst of Saint Luke’s Little Summer and will be until around Oct. 20. This period is usually a break in mid-October when we have mild, comfortable days and pleasant temperatures. Take advantage of these mild days to plant the spring flowering bulbs of jonquil, narcissus, daffodils hyacinths, crocus, tulips and snowdrops. They are available at hardwares, nurseries garden centers, Ace Hardware, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s Home Improvement. Hyacinths come in colors of red pink, white, purple, lavender, yellow and purple.

When you purchase bulbs, buy a bag of bone meal or bulb booster to give the new bulbs a great start. Add handfuls of peat moss to the bed of bulbs for moisture retention. Plant bulbs with the root side down. Add peat moss to bottom of bed before setting out the bulbs. Cover the bulbs and add a layer of crushed leaves for protection.

Enjoying crispy apples from The Big Apple

The crispiest and most mellow apples come from the New York state area. Many of these apple were probably propagated by Johnny Appleseed himself. The country’s best tasting apples are the varieties of York, McIntosh, Jonathan, Winesap, Jona-Mac, Jona-Gold and Granny Smith. New York has plenty of mountain air loamy soil, acres of cool springs and snowy winters. A combination of these natural benefits adds up to the nation’s best tasting apples.

The last shades of green

The lawn is now experiencing its last stages of green for the 2022 season. The lawn of mid-autumn seems to be singing a wintergreen song. You can feel the moistness and coolness in the blades of grass. Helen Keller, a blind teacher and poet said, “To me the lush carpet of pine needles on spongy grass is more welcome than the luxuriousness of a Persian rug.” What wonderful words from this American teacher, poet and writer; blind but her touch compensated for her eyes. Thank God for beauty that cannot only be seen but touched, felt, and enjoyed.

Perennials adorn with winter green and color

It is great to see greenery and color in autumn and winter months. A porch and deck that is filled with perennials supplies that need. Perennials are tough and winter hardy and can endure the harshness of winter. The perennials of dainties, creeping jenny, red hot poker, daphne, bugle weed, coral bells, candy tuft, hen and chicks, Columbine, Veronica and sea thrift. All of these and others bring the porch and deck alive in winter.

Setting out pansies for winter of color

As October moves along, pansies can be planted. Most hardwares, nurseries, garden centers, Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s Home Improvement have plenty of pansies in six- and nine-packs in full bloom in a variety of colors. They are tough and winter green and endure the frost and freezes of winter and produce flowers and foliage until spring. Buy a bag of pansy booster to give them a great start.

Kitchen comfort in middle of October

You can provide warmth and comfort in the kitchen in the middle of October as you prepare meals by using your oven. Bake your meals and spread warmth in the dining room. Close off the kitchen to build up warmth and then open doors to spread warmth to other areas.

Making a quick coconut whipped cream cake

This quick and easy to prepare coconut whipped cream cake has simple ingredients. You will need one box of yellow cake mix, one 18-ounce bag of frozen coconut (thawed), one tub of Cool Whip or an envelope of Dream Whip, four cups of 10x powdered sugar, one cup of sour cream and one tablespoon coconut flavoring. Mix and bake cake according to package instructions. Cool the two layers completely. Slice each layer in half to make four layers. Combine powdered sugar, sour cream, coconut and coconut flavoring and spreed on sides. Spread on the cut side of the layers. Spread the whipping cream on sides and top of cake. Store in refrigerator before and after serving.

Preparing outside faucets for winter

Prepare the water faucets outside the house by covering them with a layer of insulation wrapped with duck tape to prevent them from freezing temperatures. You can also purchase plastic faucet covers at Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Ace Hardware and most plumbing suppliers at a cost of around $12 to $15. They attach to a fitting on the house and can be detached when you need to use the faucet. They are insulated and built to last many years. They are a good investment.

Staying ahead of the harvest of leaves

As we draw closer to November, the trees are getting emptier as we get toward October’s end. Stay ahead of the leaf harvest as the mighty oaks get ready to empty their load. Do not allow leaves to blow all over the area. Rake, blow or vacuum them to the compost or garden area. Make a crushed leaf pile or fill the compost pile or bin. We like compost piles because you can add crushed leaves, grass clippings, garden residue and keep it turned with a pitch fork. You can also use organic plant food to heat up the compost pile. A little water on the pile can prevent wind from blowing the leaves around.

Candy corn has been around for generations

Candy corn is a traditional confection that has been around for many generations and well over a hundred years. It is one product that has not changed ingredients simply because their ingredients are sugar, corn syrup, corn starch and flavorings. It was on my Northampton County grandmas kitchen table from Halloween until Christmas. Our parents always had it in our treat bags at Christmas. It still looks and tastes the same, and compared to the price of everything, candy corn is still consistent in price. Unlike many other products, it has not been watered down. Over the years, they have only changed the color when they added Indian corn which is brown, white and orange. It has been made by Brach’s for well over a century. Place a bowl on the dining room table and relive some memories.

Jack Frost will soon pay us a visit

Jack Frost will soon visit our area and sweeten the collard bed and add flavor to the Siberian Kale. It will touch the leaves and add more bright color to them in their autumn splendor. Frost adds a special touch to cool weather vegetables and hardens them up for a grand freeze later next month.

A bit of crazy Halloween lore

This is a bit of weather that could be connected to a Halloween prank. This lore says that if you see a cow thumping its ribs with its tail you can look for thunder, lightning and hail, we do actually believe this is a lot of bull! We may have some thunder and lightning and even that would be rare in October.

A pot of mashed turnips — an autumn tradition

On a cool autumn evening, nothing says fall like creamy mashed turnips. To prepare mashed turnips, peel about six or eight turnips and dice them into one inch cubes. Boil in water until you can stick a fork through them. Drain and mash them with a potato masher. Add a stick of light margarine, half teaspoon black pepper, one teaspoon salt, one tablespoon sugar or light Karo corn syrup and one tablespoon mayonnaise. Stir or blend until smooth and creamy.

Catch basins for winter-over plants

When bringing in containers of Christmas cactus, panda and asparagus ferns or snake plant to winter over in the house, use plastic drip trays to prevent water from draining on the carpet or floor. These round trays cost about a dollar each, and are a great protective investment Make sure to get the right size for the containers.

“Land of Milk and Honey.” Little Joey: “Mom, are there going to be any animals in heaven?” Mom: “What kind of animals are you talking about?” Little Joey: “Regular animals like cows and bees.” Mom: “I’m not sure, but I don’t think they will be necessary in heaven.” Little Joey: “Well, is there going to be enough milk and honey for everyone?”

“Visiting the grands.” The grandparents were so excited that the grandkids were coming to visit that they put an an extra $10 in the offering plate. The next Sunday after the grandkids returned home, they put an extra hundred dollars in the offering plate.”

Years ago, my late wife Diane; daughter, Rachel; son, Jeremy, and I always preferred a little vacation trip to the mountains in October to see the annual changing of the leaves.

We took trips to Virginia’s Mabry Mill, Massanutten, and Luray Caverns; but being North Carolinians from birth, and following up on our childhood Carolina mountain trips and later graduation from Boone, N.C.’s Appalachian State University, we naturally gravitated mostly to U.S. Hwy 421 West.

Back then, before there was much straightening and widening of the road on the last 10-15 miles to downtown Boone, a culture of roadside apples and homemade apple cider stands flourished, along with other stands advertising “BOILED PEANUTS!!!!!”

Over the course of several years, we had a favorite apples-apple cider stand we visited every autumn. It had a typical stand outside; but the rest of it had two tiny rooms with produce, the whole resembling one of those “mini-houses” so often featured on TV and what I like to call the computer news.

The proprietor was a small, middle-aged, thin man in a wheelchair. He had grown up in that area; and being a mountain man, he had that typical Appalachian Mountain accent. I don’t say this disparagingly of him; because my own relatives in the foothills of the Appalachians speak the same wonderfully familiar way.

His diminutive house was literally perched on the side of a mountain. Vertical, supporting beams under the “valley-ward”(in-the-air)side of the structure gave his business a reliable center of gravity. For a sort of comparison, just picture those stilted houses close to the ocean.

Every year, at the end of our fall mountain trip to the area, my late wife would say: “On our way down the mountain, we have to stop and see The Little Man.” We parked on a little crescent-shaped, off-road, dirt curb (all that was feasible for parking) in front of his store.

On every Sunday we stopped; and The Little Man would have an AM radio playing a live church service from somewhere in the mountains. Sometimes, when we picked a sack of apples, he would hand us another, saying ”This one’s better.” One year, after we got home and everyone was inside, I went back out to get our luggage from the car and found the back seat filled with broken glass and wet with cider! That jar had evidently fermented into something else and exploded.

But one Sunday, he wasn’t there; and someone else was running his store. When I saw our old friend’s empty wheelchair, I felt a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach; and I thought of that scene with Tiny Tim’s discarded crutch in the ghost-of-Christmas-yet-to-come’s prediction in Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol.” I then slowly inquired as to The Little Man’s whereabouts and how he was doing.

The other gentleman said: “He’s fine. He doesn’t often get a chance to attend his church; and his brother came by and picked him up. His brother has a wheelchair for him, so he left his wheelchair here at the store.”

Some years later that whole section of Hwy 421 West was widened to allow for more tourists; and that particular store, along with many other little roadside stores and stands are long gone.

More room was made for the motoring, tourist public, but not for The Little Man.

The Hadley family has a long and enduring legacy in Mount Airy. The first Hadley in Surry County was James Alfred Hadley, who moved here in the 1890s. Hadley was mayor for two terms, and his mark on the town remains most notably with the Hadley House on West Pine Street.

The J. A. Hadley House was reportedly the first home in Mount Airy to use granite from the area for a large part of the construction. Built between 1894 and 1900, the house is symbolic of the late 19th century building boom that Surry County experienced. Built in the Queen Anne-style, the three-story house’s foundation, first story, and window sills were all constructed with locally quarried granite, while the second story and tower are made with brick. The original interior was ornate, featuring marble columns, and chandeliers of copper and brass.

J. A. Hadley was both a politician and prominent businessman, involved with several local businesses including tobacco manufacturing, a cotton mill (Hadley-Peoples Cotton Mill) in Siler City, and real estate development. At one time he had built and rented as many as 50 homes in the area. He served as Mount Airy’s mayor for two terms, the first from 1898 to 1900 and again from 1903 to 1905.

Hadley’s political influence extended beyond his mayoral term. Along with other prominent businessmen, J.A. Hadley was one of the signers of a denouncement of liquor in Surry County. This was in 1908 — the same year prohibition began in North Carolina.

Hadley-People’s Cotton Mill began as Hadley, Peoples, and Company – a general merchandise company that started in 1887, which also bought and shipped cotton in addition to the sale of merchandise. The mill is thought to have been in operation by 1895, with around 60 people being employed there at the time.

J. A. Hadley was a co-owner of the Hadley, Smith & Company Plug Tobacco Factory, along with Alfred E. Smith, who was also the head of the National Furniture Company.

The Hadley, Smith & Company Plug Tobacco Factory benefited greatly from the economic situation the area was in at the time. Tobacco was a booming industry with more than 1,500 tobacco farms in Surry County in 1850. At one point in 1891 a newspaper reported five tobacco factories or warehouses under construction in Mount Airy.

The Hadley-Smith Tobacco Factory was located a short walk down Pine Street from the Hadley house. Though the building still exists on West Pine street, it has been abandoned for some time.

After Martin Memorial Hospital was destroyed by fire in 1953, Mount Airy’s voters in Surry County approved a referendum to construct a new hospital, what is now Northern Regional Hospital. When a committee was looking for land on which to build Northern Surry Hospital in the late 1950s, J. A. Hadley’s widow, Swannanoa Brower Hadley, donated the land for the site.

The ancestors of J.A. Hadley influenced many of the places they lived in, just as much as the mayor impacted Mount Airy. The Hadley family came to the United States in 1712, when Simon Hadley II and his wife Ruth took their six children and made passage to America from Ireland. The family eventually settled in Mill Creek Hundred, Delaware. It is believed Simon first built a log home for the family, but in 1717 it was replaced with a brick house. It is not certain, but it is believed the house that stands on the location is the same house this early Hadley ancestor built, now named the Hadley-Denison House. In Mill Creek Hundred, Simon Hadley served as Justice of the Peace for many years, as well as a judge. Many of his children moved to North Carolina, including Joshua Hadley. Joshua, who died 1760 in Cane Creek, located in Chatham County, had resided in either Virginia and North Carolina since at least 1748. The family remained in the Chatham County area, until J. A. Hadley, Joshua Hadley’s great-great-grandson made the move to Mount Airy.

Katherine “Kat” Jackson is an employee at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. Originally from Australia she now lives in King. She can be reached at the museum at 336-786-4478.

3. William Hadley, the son of J. A. Hadley, lived next door, with his house being built around the same time as his father’s.

4. Hadley, Smith & Company Plug Tobacco Factory was also located on West Pine Street. Courtesy of Surry County Historical Society.

Holy moley, can there be a city commissioner more toxic, arrogant and just plain disrespectful of citizens than Steve Yokeley?

I attended the “Save our Main Street” rally on Sunday, Oct. 9. I can only guess that Commissioner Yokeley did not. If he had, he would have seen a thoughtful and energized group of Mount Airy-loving citizens strolling down the central part of Main Street to make a visible statement to align with their request that the council revisit, and perhaps revise, select portions of the plan approved by the council after being enthusiastically supported by Mount Airy Downtown (MAD). Quell surprise!

All participants of the Oct. 9 parade were polite, well-behaved, and sincere in their desire to use the event to let city council officials hear, once more, their collective voice. After the walk, the crowd congregated on the front lawn of the Municipal Building to offer individual concerns and ideas about how to revise and/or improve the plan. They also listened respectfully to an opposing perspective shared by a member of the board of directors of Mounty Airy Downtown Inc.

Ultimately, the gentle rally marchers — or “naysayers, fear mongers, doomsday prophets, obstructionists, and saboteurs,” as Steve Yokeley might describe them — may have missed their mark on their desired outcome [see “City sticking to guns on downtown plan” in the Oct. 13 Mount Airy News]; but they were successful in highlighting the fact that so many sitting council officials, like Commissioner Yokeley, remain unable or unwilling to listen respectfully and respond effectively to business owners and residents who dare question their poor decisions.

On Nov. 8, voters will have an opportunity to remove the many close-minded MAD puppets who now populate the city council by electing candidates who can think for themselves while respectfully serving the interests of all citizens … not just the downtown elite.

“Turn us, O God of our salvation…wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? …” Psalm 85:1-13.

Thinking on these words we realize that we have just read a prayer, a humble petition for the God who saved us to also bring us back to where we’ve fallen away from; where we need to return to. And where is that? Close to Him, and back into His will.

Part of the the way back home is to recognize we need to return. In Luke 15:11-24, Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son, who left home, left his father, and “wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all…he began to be in want…” He wound up getting a job feeding pigs, and in his hunger, even began eating the same husks the swine were eating. Finally, “he came to himself,” recognizing that he would be far better off if he would just return home.

The next part of the story, and our advice for returning to God, is turning away from self and sin, and our coming home with repentant heart to the Father. Because God is good and “His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 118), we know our Father is watching for us to turn the corner on our way back to Him. We know He’ll come running to embrace us, forgive us, and restore us!

II Chronicles 7:13-22, “…If My people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

I believe this is a key scripture to our being revived individually, and as the church. Last week we saw how the first step in turning to God for revival is humbling ourselves. Today we will look at the second step, which is prayer. Notice in these verses that the Lord doesn’t say He’ll hear, forgive and heal if the world repents and turns to Him: The Lord says “if my people, which are called by my name” shall make themselves right with me, then I will have mercy and do all this good for them, and the land they live in.

We the church are the ones who know Him, know better, and know we need to return to Him. So we come to Him with words of prayer; as Daniel did in Daniel 9:3-19, confessing our own sins and the sins of our nation. The book also says that Daniel fasted. Sometimes the situation is urgent and dire enough that we need to pray, and fast. Isn’t our family and friends, and their eternal souls reason enough? So let’s set aside providing for the flesh, to seek the God of Heaven in spirit and in truth.

Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us, “Seeing then that we have a Great High Priest…Jesus the Son of God, … Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Christians, I believe we recognize we’re not were we need to be. America is no longer a Christian nation. The church is now more blended with the world and its ways. The bride of Christ is not as pure and holy as she needs to be. Our light is not as bright as our God requires of us. Truly our Lord is the only answer for this grave problem, so we pray to Him to lift us back up where we belong; to revive us again. Through prayer, as we acknowledge our need for Him, He extends us mercy, and offers us help.

James 5:13-18, “…in the name of the Lord…the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up…pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (producing the desired effect) fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman) avails much.”

Notice that this scripture teaches us that we are to pray in the name of the Lord. His name is Jesus; which literally means savior, or the Lord is salvation. We’re acknowledging that we need saving, and He’s the one who can save us. We are to pray by faith. See James 1:6, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” And Matthew 9:29, Jesus said, “According to your faith be it unto you.” And Luke 8:48 and 50, “be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole” …and, “Fear not: believe only… be made whole.”

Notice also that James instructs us to pray fervently. This means with great warmth of emotion. We should earnestly pour out our soul in prayer to our God. Jesus taught His disciples, and us also, to pray to our Father. In Matthew 6:5-13 we are instructed to acknowledge that Christ’s Father is also our Father by faith; we recognize in reverence that His name is holy; we desire that His kingdom come, and His will be done, here in Earth, even as it is in Heaven; we request our daily food provision; we ask for His forgiveness of any trespass against Him; we ask Him to lead us in His righteous ways; and we plead with Him to deliver us from evil, within and without. And all this is because His is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.

One of the shortest verses in the Bible, but one of the most necessary to keep is I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” We must be in a constant frame of mind of prayer and continual communion with our God. This will keep our focus where it belongs, on Him and His will.

In closing today, realize that prayer is a two-way street. As we offer up our prayers to our Heavenly Father, remember to listen to what He replies. Psalm 85:8, “I will hear what God the Lord will speak.” The way we hear from Him is by preparing our hearts and minds to receive what He has to say to us through His word in the Bible. Read it daily, meditate on, and memorize it, do it. James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.” Lord, “wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?”

Our town, Mount Airy, is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Surry County; just south of the Virginia border. We go back to a time when stage coaches ran our Main Street; headed up over the mountain and down Winston-Salem way. We’ve seen good times, bad times and once upon a time, we were known as “Little Chicago,” but whatever came our way, we fought the good fight and saved the day.

Should you drop by, the stage coaches and covered wagons are long gone and no longer will you see Tommy guns sticking out of car windows. Those Big Rigs that shook the buildings when the truck route ran Main Street? They now run the by-pass, aka; the Andy Griffith Parkway. Should you come thirsty, you no longer sneak around to someone’s back door; the moonshine we were once known for has been replaced by “Bottled-in-Bond” sold by the government in our public liquor store.

Even so, some things never change and just like the city of Chicago, we tend to get a little windy when talking about our fair city. We may not be much to look at, but we are a friendly bunch with hearts of gold and should you drop by, everybody you meet will greet you with a friendly “hello.”

Should you come hungry, you’ll find the finest dining in all the land, with stick-to-your-ribs food like you’ve never seen before: ground steak sandwiches, pork chop sandwiches, Big Moe’s, corn bread and collard sandwiches, (with a strip of fried pork side meat thrown in.) Dessert? Our famous fruit “sonker” will lift you off your feet. Should you crave some illegal moonshine, we got that too; straight from the still. You just need to know where to go and bring some cash.

With that in mind, why don’t you stop by our little town, take a load off and sit a spell? We’ll pull up a chair down at the hardware store, sit around the pot-bellied stove and drag out our favorite beverage which will quench the worst thirst, guaranteed. We’ll talk about the good old days, learn who got caught doing what, pick out a tune on the old five-string and have ourselves a whale of a good time. So, my friend, what are you waiting for? Come on down to what us natives call “Moun’ Erry, North Ka’ Liner” and you’ll be glad you did.

Sure that may sound weird, and I never thought I’d say this. I was married to NC’s 5th Congressional District candidate Kyle Parrish for 12 years. We have two amazing children and he has two more with his current wife. He’s a church-going, soccer dad who works in IT.

No personal motive, except to do something about the direction our country is headed. We were kids in college when we met, and I had never heard of a party line voter before I met Kyle. That was some kind of a political slur in the 90s. It basically meant you didn’t research who you were voting for.

So why am I asking you to vote for a guy who is ancient history to me? Because he is moderate. He’s fiscally conservative — believe me. And an avid supporter of equality, choice, human rights, educational opportunities. And frankly, he’s smart.

Let’s take a brief look at his opponent, Virginia Foxx. She is against family planning to all degrees. I don’t even know why someone without reproductive relevancy is so concerned about eliminating access to birth control, mammograms, cervical screening, and choice, but here we are. She’s outdated, and unhealthy to the women and men of North Carolina’s 5th District.

So please vote for Kyle Parrish, the time is now.

Hard core criminals should be severely punished.

Rapists, murderers, serial killers, and robbers who commit horrific acts and killing their victims should be hanged, either at the site where the poor victim is found or on Main Street in that particular city or town — and let the public see this.

I truly believe a lot of these terrible crimes would slow down or possibly stop. Surely anybody would think about the penalty facing them for committing a horrible violent act on an innocent human being.

Crime never wins, only love and compassion for life prevails.

Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.

Violet O’Neal Hill

I attended the town council meeting on Thursday Oct. 6. I was once again given an opportunity to speak concerning my feelings about The New Main Street Plan. I had hoped to appeal to the council in an effort to have them re-look and revise the part of the plan that would change the look of our Main Street.

Myself along with two other people attempted to appeal to the council on this matter. One gentleman did speak in favor of the plan.

To my dismay, as the council was concluding, three of the councilmen decided to make those who opposed the Main Street Plan the bad guys. We were called “nay sayers,” and accused of spreading misinformation, and causing division in the town. I assure you, that is the last thing that myself and many others want to do. I love this town, along with the wonderful people that make up this town.

All that us so-called nay sayers want, is one thing, for this town of Mount Airy to remain the historical, family-oriented, charming town that it is right now.

October signals the abundance of pumpkins. They cover the entrance of produce markets in a sea of bright orange. They are also featured sprawled out on church lawns where they can be purchased at fund-raisers. As we begin October, take the kids and grandkids on a search for their own jack o’lantem by visiting a pick your own pumpkin patch.

There are two kinds of pumpkin patches; the first kind is a man-made patch where there are hundreds of pumpkins in rows and you walk through the rows and choose the one you want. The other type of pumpkin patch is pumpkins growing in the field. Kids actually visit the patch and harvest their pumpkin. Many of these farms have a hayride, playgrounds and refreshments. Many old fashioned country stores feature plenty of pumpkins, apples and Halloween candies, Indian corn and other decor.

Checking out a row or bed of purple turnips

The turnips sown earlier in September are sprouting and have two leaves. If the turnip sprouts are too thick, thin them out so they will have space to develop large turnips. Feed the turnips with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food once a month and keep soil hilled up to cover the vegetable food on each side of the row. As we move further into October, place a layer of crushed leaves between the rows for added protection.

The furnace and air conditioner get a break

These Indian Summer days of October are comfortable and are giving our furnace and air conditioner a break in the season. These October days are pleasant because the humidity is lower and provides us with a bit of natural air conditioning. A crisp breeze also brings some comfort. These are opportune days to finish all lawn and garden chores and also relax on the front porch.

Indian Summer paves the way for Jack Frost

It’s hard to believe with the pleasant days of Indian Summer temperatures that frost is only a few weeks away. We can expect some frost after the middle of the month, but not much of a killing frost until the end of the month. The light frosts will benefit the cool weather vegetables and harden them off for the heavy frosts and hard freezes that will arrive in November.

Making a plate of sweet pumpkin puffs

This is a great pumpkin recipe that is simple to prepare for an autumn dessert. You will need two and a half cups of Bisquick, one and a half cups of sugar, half teaspoon of pumpkin pie spices, two cups canned pumpkin, half cup milk, two beaten eggs, four tablespoons Crisco oil, four table spoons light margarine, and one teaspoon vanilla flavoring. Combine the Bisquick, one cup of sugar and the pumpkin pie spices. Mix in the two cups of pumpkin, one teaspoon vanilla flavoring, half cup of milk, two beaten eggs and four tablespoons Crisco oil. Mix all ingredients well for sixty seconds. Grease the muffin tins and fill the muffin cups two thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees for twelve minutes or until done. Cool slightly, remove from pans. Mix half cup sugar half teaspoon pumpkin pie spices, and four tablespoons of light melted margarine. Dip the puffs in the sugar. spice mixture. Makes at least 24 puffs. It can be made without the sugar-spice topping.

The four o’clocks have had a wonderful season

The four o’clocks have had a productive season. They have bloomed since the last of May and we still have several blooming on the front of the porch. They open earlier each evening because the end of Daylight Saving is drawing nearer. At this time late in the season, they are still in bloom at noon each day. We think it will take a hard freeze in November to finish their long season. They have became perennial and return each year. Four o’clocks are a great investment in foliage and flowers for three of the year’s four seasons.

Checking out the season’s crop of acorns

The forest floor has lots of acorns even though the squirrels have harvested their fair share of them. When there is a huge layer of acorns lying on the ground in mid-October they are sending a subtle message that they are waiting around for some snow before the year ends.

Red berries cover the limbs of dogwoods

There have been plenty of red berries on the dogwoods in spite of the fact that many have been eaten by birds. There are still a lot remaining on the limbs. We don’t know if an abundance of berries is any sign of a harsh winter or not. You can gather some of these red berries to decorate the dining room or coffee table for Christmas.

You can still set out a row or bed of onion sets

It may be close to mid-October but it is still Indian Summer. You can still set out a bed of onion sets. They are still available at most hardware’s and garden centers. You can choose from white, red, or yellow sets. The first hard freeze usually occurs in November and that’s how much time you have to set out those onion sets. At this time of season, you can go ahead and apply a layer of crushed leaves on the sets between the rows when you set them out.

The Christmas cactus ready to move inside

All the Christmas cactus have been outside on the porch in a semi-sunny location since mid-May. The time is now approaching to move them inside to the sunny living room before the arrival of the first frost later this month. They will need to be trimmed back a little and fed with Flower-Tone organic flower food and some cactus medium needed at top of the container. In the living room where they winter over, they will need to be in a semi-sunny location away from direct sunlight to prevent foliage from turning reddish. They will need a drink of water once a week but don’t over water them.

Preserving autumn leaves for harvest displays

To preserve autumn leaves in all their color and glory, use a can of beeswax and melt it in a small pan and dip each leaf in the wax, remove and place on a paper plate to dry. They can be used on the dining room or coffee table or mantel for harvest decorations with jack-be-little pumpkins and Hershey’s autumn Kisses, candy corn or creme pumpkins.

Making a jack o’ lantern and pie

You can make a jack o’ lantern and have a pumpkin pie with it later on by painting a face on the pumpkin with acrylic paints and place it on the front porch. Use acrylic paints in colors of orange, yellow black and white to highlight and color the face of the pumpkin. After Halloween, you can cut the pumpkin, peel it cut into chunks, boil until tender and mash with a potato masher or run through the blender in grate mode, and make into pumpkin pies.

The moon will reach its first quarter on Sunday, Oct. 2. Yom Kipper will begin at sundown on Tuesday, Oct. 4. There will be a full moon on Sunday, Oct. 9. This full moon of October will be named “Full Hunter’s Moon.” Columbus Day will be observed on Monday, Oct. 10. The moon will reach its last quarter on Monday, Oct. 17. The new moon of October will occur on the evening of Oct. 25. Halloween will be Monday, Oct. 31.

These tiny pumpkins are about the size of your fist and they make colorful displays for the dining room or coffee table. You can paint faces on them or use them as they are. Use Hershey’s autumn Kisses or creme pumpkins around base of pumpkins for centerpieces. The kids will love these decorations. Replenish the candy often.

Pumpkin carving kit is a good investment

The best and safest way to carve out a jack o’ lantern is with a durable and long lasting pumpkin carving kit. A quality kit with plenty of blades and attachments costs around $12 and will last for many years. They can also be used to carve melon baskets and cantaloupes. A kit includes attachable blades, a scraper, and a scooper and saw blades of all sizes.

Still time to plant pansies

Pansies are the annuals of autumn that will carry over into winter and early spring. As October arrives, there is still plenty of time to start containers of pansies. You can still purchase six and nine packs of pansies in full bloom at hardware’s, nurseries garden centers, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Ace Hardware.

“Checking out the tomatoes.” Doctor: “That’s a horrible gash on your forehead, what happened?” Child: “My sister hit me with some tomatoes.” Doctor: “That’s amazing. I’ve never seen a tomato cut like that before.” Child: “Well, these tomatoes were canned tomatoes.”

“Silent treatment.” Father: “Your boyfriend stayed last night.” Daughter: “And did the noise bother you, Dad?” Father: “No, but the long periods of silence did.”

Back in 2014, I got to play the part of Dr. Herman Einstein in a stage production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Peter Lorre played that part in the 1944 movie of the same name. Always an admirer of Lorre, I finally got to “be” Peter Lorre, utilizing my impression of his voice.

I have always admired the singing voice of the actor/singer Jack Prince, who played Rafe Hollister on “The Andy Griffith Show,” so, this year, utilizing my natural singing voice, I got to “be” Rafe Hollister in the Mount Airy Mayberry Days Parade.

Paying tribute to a character on stage involves “stage right” and “stage left;” while doing the same in a parade involves “stage straight ahead, rolling along underneath!”

My daughter Rachel, and her husband, Richard, had been attending the Mount Airy Mayberry Days for the past few years; and Rachel said I should portray Rafe Hollister in the Mayberry Days parade. So, on Sept. 24, Rachel, Richard, my son, Jeremy, and I met up in Mount Airy.

I began a week before by ceasing my shaving. This was an attempt to match up with what TV’s Mayberry Mayor Roy Stoner said about Rafe Hollister not being worthy of representing Mayberry at a choral festival: “He’s unpresentable!” “He’s seedy!” After not shaving for a week, I looked unpresentable and seedy! People think male actors in movies are hot when they have stubble on their faces; but in the case of a 71-year-old man, it’s just an old man who evidently forgot to shave.

To further look the part, I wore bib overhauls, a plaid shirt, and a fedora to which I had given a slightly crumpled look. Since Rafe did some moonshinin’, I carried a quart Ball Mason jar filled about one-third of water to resemble moonshine. Regarding the “Glass half full or glass half empty phrase,” I bet that with moonshine aficionados, a 1/3 quart of moonshine is always dishearteningly seen in the negative: being unfortunately, two-thirds empty instead of “one-third full.

Just so none of the parade-goers would wrongly assume my jar contained the real thing, I taped a homemade label to it, reading “190 PROOF H2O,” captioned with 3 Xs.

In the parade formation’s Truist Bank parking lot, I was welcomed heartily by veteran character portrayers from past Mayberry Days Parades, some with 30 years of experince! There was not one bit of snobbery towards the new kid on the block (or in the lot). I told “Mayor Stoner” I hadn’t shaved for a week in order to present myself as “unpresentable.” He said “And you’re seedy looking,” followed by a big laugh. I told him that coming from him, it was a great compliment — we both had a good laugh.

Briscoe Darling, Andy, Barney, Floyd, Howard, Otis, Colonel Harvey, Ellie, Mayor Stoner, Asa, The Man in a Hurry, The Fun Girls, etc. were all like long-lost family reunited.

I was overwhelmed by the response of the parade goers When I sang “The Lonesome Road” or “Ridin’ on that New River Train,” I was greeted by one of the greatest numbers of smiling teeth I’ve seen, smiles “Busting out all over!” Some people hollered: “Hey Rafe! Can I have some of what’s in your jar?” And some had me pause for pictures with them.

At one point in the parade, a gap was developing. So, a police officer (real, not Barney) motioned to me and asked me to move up a bit to help fill in the gap. I thought: “Gosh! I’m a float in the Mayberry Days Parade (as was each of the Mayberry tribute characters).

Partway through the parade, I realized something. It occurred to me that since a goodly number of those greatly smiling parade goers were of the Mayberry generation; they were reacting to someone bringing back a beloved TV character from their childhood There are many of us from that generation who can recite “The Andy Griffith Show” episodes (and we’re also getting a regular refresher course from ME-TV). In a way, all of those characters from Mayberry were formative for us. And thanks to ME-TV, newer generations are being “so formed!”

After the parade, we toured the Andy Griffith Museum and shopped. Due to my sciatica acting up while just standing, I had to periodically find an outside storefront chair. Upon striking up conversation with those around me (also sitting), I learned their reasons for sitting was sciatica. During one of my pauses, I received a ticket for “loitering” from Barney Fife. I thanked him and told him I would treasure it.

In the last store where we shopped, I saw some jars of Aunt Bee’s Pickles for sale. I passed them up, thinking they might contain her pickles with that kerosene taste; and that with all of the hubbub going on in Mayberry, Andy and Barney might not yet have had a chance to replace them with the store-bought pickles.

I suddenly realized that Mount Airy’s Mayberry Days had achieved for me that supreme goal of the stage: The suspension of disbelief.

Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.

Our theme for the 2022-2023 school year is “Don’t Give Up. Don’t Ever Give Up.” We all know we can be 1% better every day supporting students. We know that students can be 1% better every day reaching and growing toward their goals. We don’t want to ever give up on a student and we don’t want them to give up on themselves.

Athletics has a long tradition of working toward winning for the team. This year, we have taken these lessons and translated strategies for a winning team to our school culture. Creating a winning culture where the team wins is what we strive to do. Leader in Me teaches this strategy to children but we can all benefit from it — Habit 4: Think Win-Win means, “I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want.”

We can all benefit from learning to create win-win situations instead of “I win” and “you lose” situations. Winning athletic teams outline communication and team building as their top strategies for success. More than 90% of our staff report on the recent working conditions that they are happy to be in our school system because they know that we keep children in the center of all we do. They contribute feedback through many teams at their school, surveys, and focus groups.

This feedback from our staff helps us to continually improve processes and builds healthy teams. Our district started the school year with all teaching positions filled which showcases a mixture of low turnover rates and others wanting to join our team. As our enrollment numbers have continued to increase over the past six years, we have added new positions to best support our students and staff. We have a small list of current openings at this time and anyone wishing to join our team can visit https://bit.ly/MACSjobs to learn more and apply.

These communication feedback loops allow us to hear information from multiple sources and perspectives. We have feedback loops available for school staff members with teams such as the Multi-Tiered System of Support team and School Improvement Team. We have opportunities at the district level such as the Staff Superintendent Advisory Team and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund staff feedback sessions. We gather survey data each year regarding working conditions and provide staff opportunities to share with district staff how we can improve along with ideas from the classroom. This is similar to the game field where adjustments are constantly made for improvement.

Our community, parents, and students are important team players and are also powerful voices for us to listen and learn from. We have a Superintendent’s Business Advisory group, a Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Group, and two Superintendent’s Student Advisory groups. We also have students who sit as representatives during our Board of Education business meetings. We have scheduled public meetings this year for input on the Portrait of a Graduate, where you can discuss your ideas about what traits students should graduate. The dates are Oct. 6, Jan. 19, and March 2. If you are interested in joining this work email Carrie Venable at cvenable@mtairy.k12.nc.us.

Just as athletes are on winning teams our schools are also working hard to create winning teams. These high expectations and standards are critical to student success. Students can do the work, if they have educators and parents going hand-in-hand daily to move them toward their goals of being a teacher, doctor, technology leader, welder, health care worker, or any other aspiration. We hope to work with students to envision a successful future for each of them and then, by design, move them toward that success. We expect to have high standards in our classrooms and high expectations on our campuses. Students will rise to the level of expectation that we set just as they do when they are coached and encouraged along the way.

Winning coaches outline that teams must have high expectations and standards and make sure that every athlete reaches those standards and expectations. But, most importantly they need to understand why they are part of the team and why it matters. The team has a goal of winning every game and taking the championship. We know this translates into the classroom as well.

Why do staff members come to school every day, why are students part of the team of Mount Airy City Schools, and how can we empower students and staff to live in their “why”? Mount Airy City Schools believes every child deserves to graduate with a plan and tools to make them successful such as strong mathematical skills, strong reading skills, arts education, language acquisition, career and technical skills, and much more. Every year, we equip them, share tools with them, encourage them, and grow them to the next level. We have 1,800 reasons why walking through our doors every day. We must work together, communicate well, improve our practices, and empower students to win the game of life. We will never give up on any student and we want students to also work hard, gain skills, learn trades, and design their dreams with skills to achieve them.

Derek Jeter said, “There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” Bill Belichick tells his team, “Do your job.” If we all do our job better than anyone else in the state, the team will win. If we are all giving 100%, going the extra mile, being positive, building up our teammates and our administrators, encouraging children, and setting goals showcasing we believe in all of our students, we will win this year. We need everyone’s help to sustain a winning culture.

We know that to lead, innovate, and serve we also must embrace this year’s theme of “Don’t Give Up. Don’t Ever Give Up.” We hope the community will continue to work with us through the many opportunities and ways to engage. Please check out our website for more information on how you can contribute and be part of our winning culture. www.mtairy.k12.nc.us

For families wishing to better understand what Mount Airy City Schools has to offer them and for current families wishing to see what is found at the next school, visit https://bit.ly/AboutMACS21-22 There you will find a brochure highlighting many opportunities found in our system. Anyone wishing to schedule a tour can visit http://bit.ly/MACStour.

The blast tore through the chilled morning air, glass shards from shattered windows raining down on Mount Airy citizens as they ran to investigate. The scene of destruction must have been jarring.

A heavy fog shrouded the carnage, clinging to trees and adding to the surreal affect. Twisted metal, fluttering pieces of paper, and the mangled remains of a Ford pickup truck littered Franklin Street and the neatly kept lawns that lined it. The acrid scent of burning fuel filled the air as people tried to make sense of the wreckage.

Twenty feet from the truck lay the body of their neighbor William Cochrane. Someone brought a blanket to cover the young man out of respect as others called for emergency services.

It must have been a shock when Bill pushed the fabric from his face. “Don’t cover me. I’m not dead.”

It was 8:05 am, Monday, Dec. 31, 1951. Bill was headed to White Plains High School where he was an agriculture teacher who worked with the Future Farmers of America and also GIs returning to family farms after their tour of duty was done.

At 23, he wasn’t much older than many of his students. Athletic and affable, he was popular with students and staff at the school where he’d been teaching since he graduated from NC State in 1949. The Franklin native had deep roots in the far-western counties of Macon and Buncombe where his ancestors had lived since at least 1800.

He met Imogene Moses, a graduate of Appalachian State and Surry’s assistant home demonstration officer, here. Imogene grew up near Pittsboro, Chatham County, near Raleigh. The couple married August 25, 1951. They were looking for a home in White Plains where they regularly attended services at the Friends’ Meeting House.

The blast put an end to all of that.

The bomb was under the driver’s seat. It ejected Bill through the roof of the cab and amputated both legs. Police, recognizing the severity of Bill’s injuries, asked if he knew who could have done this.

“I don’t have an enemy in the world,” was the confused reply before he was taken to Martin Memorial Hospital on Cherry Street.

His students flocked to the hospital to donate blood but, despite extraordinary efforts by the medical staff, the trauma and shock were beyond them. William Homer Cochrane Jr. died 13 hours later. More than 3,000 mourners attended the funeral.

Rumors flew as the investigation got underway. Mount Airy Police Chief Monte W. Boone met with James Powell, director of the State Bureau of Investigation. Mount Airy Police Captain W. H. Sumner worked with SBI Agent Willis Jessup, former Mount Airy Police Chief.

City leaders posted a $2,100 reward for information leading to an arrest. The state added $400 and Bill’s hometown of Franklin where his own father was chief of police, added $1,300.

Governor W. Kerr Scott decried the indiscriminate nature of the murder that could have killed anyone. “The flames of righteous anger continue to run high in Mount Airy… every citizen should cooperate to the fullest with the Mount Airy police officers.”

Sumner and John Edwards and Guy Scott, SBI agents based in Elkin, tracked down Imogene’s former beaus here, at App State, and in Chatham County where she grew up.

They sent what they could find of the bomb to the FBI’s Crime Laboratories in Washington, D.C., where it was determined dynamite or nitroglycerine had been used. So, they tracked down dynamite sales.

The process was made more difficult by a dry season where many local wells dried up causing a spike in dynamite sales. Ed Draughn, a worker at the W. E. Merritt Hardware Store on Main Street, remembered selling two sticks and five blasting caps to a stranger the week before Christmas.

But there the trail ran cold — until April 1954.

Imogene moved back east to Edenton to be closer to family and to escape painful memories. There she met George Byrum, a city councilman. Two weeks before they were due to wed a bomb was found in her car. Not as powerful or sophisticated, when this bomb exploded it didn’t kill anyone, just put Edenton Police Chief George Dail in the hospital with burns.

SBI agents John Edwards and Guy Scott headed to Edenton to talk with a man they suspected from the start but couldn’t find enough evidence for arrest.

George Henry Smith, a childhood friend of Imogene’s, had asked her out a few times over the years. She never accepted. After being questioned he drove to the family farm where he lived with his parents, ran into the woods and committed suicide before they could charge him.

Imogene and George Byrum married and raised a family in Edenton. She and George both died in 2008.

There are those who believe young Cochrane’s spirit haunts the apartments and homes along Franklin Street where he lived and died. His story is recounted on the museum’s ghost tour each Friday and Saturday night. The tragic emotions of a life cut short ripple through time as he continues to wonder, “Who could have done this? I don’t have an enemy in the world.”

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