The Great Matrimony Mystery

53 years later, couple searches for wedding site

Chuck and Brenda Pierson have been in Mount Airy this week trying to solve a mystery.

The two have been in town celebrating their 53rd wedding anniversary in a curious way — trying to find just where they were married.

The couple, Ohio natives who have lived in the Newport area of North Carolina since 2012, were just young adults — she was 18, he was 20 — when they planned a clandestine wedding more than five decades ago, as 1969 was drawing to a close. They put that plan in action just after the first of 1970 — the two hopped in a car, drove from Ohio to North Carolina, where they could marry without parental permission or a waiting period, and Mount Airy was the first city they found once they drove across the border.

Brenda Pierson said both sets of parents were not necessarily against their planned matrimony, but they wanted the two young lovers to slow down just a bit.

“We dated 19 days before he asked me to marry him,” she said. “That was a Thursday night. I told him ‘Come back tomorrow and I’ll let you know.’”

The next evening she told him yes, but then their parents stepped in.

“Needless to say, after the short period of time we dated, neither set of parents were extremely pleased with it. They asked us to hold off to June. So, we started planning a June wedding,” she said.

That was in October 1969. By December, the two had decided waiting was not in the cards. With the help of a relative on each side of their families, the two planned to elope, but not tell anyone about their marriage, carrying on through the June wedding as if the marriage had never taken place.

As is often the case when two young folks drive off with what some might consider an impetuous plan — enacting that plan was fraught with obstacles.

“We planned to leave Ohio on Friday morning, to come to North Carolina to get married, and our bloodwork was delayed at the hospital in Ohio, we got a very late start,” Brenda Pierson said.

Chuck Pierson said once they were in Mount Airy, they stopped at the first store they saw to ask where the courthouse was so they could secure a marriage license, only to learn they had to drive to Dobson.

“We got into the courthouse, into the office to get our marriage license, I looked up at the clock and it was 5 til 5,” Brenda Pierson said. “We cut it very close. I didn’t think there was any way we would get a license that day.”

But they did, and then motored back to Mount Airy, stopping in some unremembered store to buy a Bible and a set of rings.

So the young couple found themselves with everything they needed to get married — except a minister or Justice of the Peace.

“We went looking for a church, but it was Friday, 6:30 or 7 at night,” she said.

Finally, the two stopped at a local pharmacy — and this is where the mystery begins.

“The owner was the pharmacist. We asked him if he knew where we might find the Justice of the Peace,” Barbara recalled when telling the story this week.

In a scene that would be very Mayberry-like, she said the owner laughed.

“So ya’ll want to get married? He’s (the justice of the peace) a friend of mine, I’ll call him and he’ll be right up.”

Sure enough, he was there in just a few minutes, and corralled a couple of his friends who happened to be shopping in the store at the time to be witnesses.

“We didn’t have a church, he (the justice of the peace) said ‘Let’s use the back of the store.’ I didn’t want to get married in a pharmacy, but I didn’t want to say no,” Brenda said. “I had imagined getting married in the living room of the justice of the peace, or at the courthouse, but not in a pharmacy.”

Still, the two went through with the service, and soon were Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Pierson.

Now, 53 years later, the couple has been back in town this week trying to find the building that served as their wedding chapel.

Their search has sent them to a number of places to check out older buildings — Holcomb’s Hardware, the current home of Surry Medical Ministries, and a few others, including a vacant building on the corner of Rockford and Worth streets.

Both of them thought that building looked familiar, until they discovered it was a former bus depot.

That sent them searching again, with few clues. Even on their marriage certificate they could glean little useful information — the hand-written signature of the magistrate, along with any information about where the wedding may have taken place, was illegible.

Amy Snyder, curator of collections at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, did a bit of sleuthing and discovered the name of the Justice of the Peace at that time — J. Earl Ramey. He worked at Granite City Insurance Agency, was secretary at Surry Milling Co. & Ice Plant and also served as the Justice of Peace.

She also landed on what might have been the wedding location, the former hospital pharmacy on Rockford Street across from Super Mercado Esmeralda — known as The Red Barn. That pharmacy building, unfortunately, was razed a few years ago for expanded parking space.

While it appeared the couple might not definitely learn where their marriage took place, the two decided to make one more stop in their search — at the Mount Airy Public Library. There, in a stroke of good luck, retired head librarian Pat Gwyn happened to be attending a book club meeting there. Learning of their search, Gwyn was able to direct them to some old Mount Airy telephone directories still on file at the library.

Utilizing those, the couple discovered while the building on the corner of Worth and Rockford had been a bus depot, its prior use was as Surry Pharmacy.

“Pat said it used to have a lunch counter and a few small booths,” Brenda Pierson said. “I remembered those.”

Standing outside the vacant building Wednesday, peering through the windows, she also pointed out a series of support poles inside. “I remember those. I think the pharmacy counter was there.”

Given that the couple is marking their 53rd anniversary, the quickie wedding seemed to suit the two. While relations between their two families were strained for a bit after everyone learned of the wedding — one of those relatives helping set it up apparently spilled the beans a couple of months later — Chuck Pierson said all involved became the best of friends, often vacationing and socializing together.

His younger sister even married Brenda’s younger brother a decade later, the two men spending their careers working in the same manufacturing plant, the two women spending their careers working in the same school system.

“Our kids are all double-first cousins,” he said, with Brenda chiming in that the entire extended family has remained close over the years.

But that one question, about where they were married, tugged at them.

Now, the two seem to have closure on that mystery.

“I didn’t think we were ever going to figure it out,” Chuck Pierson said Wednesday, standing outside the former pharmacy. “But it’s been worth it. I’m glad we finally figured it out.”

Top-ranked Hounds down Bears 73-50

Auditions for the Surry Arts Council’s production of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” directed by Madeline Matanick are being held on Tuesday, Jan. 3 and Wednesday, Jan. 4, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each day at the Andy Griffith Playhouse.

“Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” is the new Broadway adaptation of the classic musical. This contemporary take on the classic tale features Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” alongside an up-to-date, hilarious and romantic libretto by Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane, arts council officials said.

“At its core, ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella’ remains the heartfelt tale of the girl from the cinders who connects with her prince,” they said. “This version shows her to be forthright and kind as she tries to change the prince into a better man.”

Those auditioning should be prepared to sing 16-32 bars of a musical theater song in the style of the show. Those auditioning may take sheet music or sing acapella. “Be ready to learn a short dance combination and read from the script,” organizers said. “Wear clothing you can move in and bring dance shoes if you have them. You only need to be present at one evening of auditions. Auditions are open to ages 5 to adults.”

Auditioners must be available for mandatory rehearsals and performance dates. Tech rehearsals will be on March 24 and from March 27 to March 30. The public performances will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 2. School performances will be at 12 p.m. on Friday, March 31, and Monday, April 3.

Watch for details of other activities associated with the production including a Cinderella Tea served by members of the cast, and Cinderella-theme craft workshops.

For additional information about auditions, contact Madeline Matanick at madi@surryarts. For all other inquiries, contact Marianna Juliana at marianna@surryarts.org or 336-786-7998. Tickets for the shows are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street.

New titles available at the Mount Airy Public Library:

The Holistic RX for Kids – Madiha M. Saeed MD

The Prince of Spies – Elizabeth Camden

Night Bird Calling -Cathy Gohlke

The Christmas House – Victoria James

Storytime is here for kids of all ages. Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. is Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3; Thursday at 9:30 a.m. is Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old; and on Thursday at 11 a.m. is Preschool Storytime for ages 4-5.

STEAMed Up Tuesdays from 4 — 5 p.m. Interactive fun and learning for youth in grades 4 through 6.

Hooked – Join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Open for all skill levels. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Crimes and Crafts is the final Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. A new book club for adults that focuses on murder, mayhem, true crime and other tales of terror. Our January read will be “Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases,” by Paul Holes.

Tai Chi Fridays. Experience meditation in motion, 10 a.m. every Friday in the Multipurpose Room All skill levels are welcome.

It’s Yoga Y’all!!! – Join Ms. Heather on the third Saturday of the month at 10:30 am.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month’s book is Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. In January, we are reading Mystery Authors to celebrate Sherlock Holmes’ birthday. For our book club event we are reading any novel by Jane Tesh and will hear her speak at our January meeting.

Chapters Book Club – meets the third Thursday of the month at 11:30. Members discuss the different books they have read.

Join us Thursday, Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. for a Makerspace Party. Explore and use our new Makerspace materials: Dash the Robot, Code and Go Robot Mouse, Nintendo Switches…

The library will be closed Dec. 31 – Jan. 2 for the New Year’s Holiday.

VITA Tax Preparation – Appointments to have your taxes done will run from Jan. 28 to April 8.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

The end is near for the year of 2022

Whatever projects that you desire to finish in the year of 2022, you are running out of time to complete that job. After that it will be out with the old and in with the new. One thing we can do as the old year comes to an end is to not make any resolutions for the new year if we know we do not intend to keep them. Good intentions will not cause you to keep those resolutions; this takes a lot of determination and will power.

A gift of light that will continue to grow

A special gift of extra daylight since Dec. 21, is providing us with an extra minute of daylight each evening. This will continue from now until June 21,2023. It will take until the middle of February to really see very much difference. This is one of the first subtle hints of spring.

The Christmas cactus had many blooms

We were rewarded with many blooms from the Christmas cactus this season and especially pleased with the white and red cactus showing off their colorful blooms. It is now time to feed them with an application of Flower-Tone organic flower food and a drink of water every week or ten days. In the house during winter months, keep them out of direct sunlight to avoid foliage from turning reddish. Christmas cactus can still be purchased at Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement and probably at a reduced price. When you bring the cactus home re-pot it in a larger container with a bag of Miracle-Gro cactus and citrus medium an place it in a semi-sunny location in the house.

Its time to recycle items for next Christmas

Now that the Christmas decorations are being taken down and stored for next year, organize them so you will know where they are and what container they are in next Christmas season. Recycle all boxes by dismantling them and placing them in a large box, place ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper in a box and label the box. As you take lights from the tree, replace the burned out lights on each strand and rewind each strand on a whole section of newspaper with the plug end at the end of the strands to make them easier to wrap around make them when decorating it next year. Wrap the Christmas garland and roping in long sections of newspaper to avoid tangling and make it easier to wrap around the tree next year. Place all ornaments in a separate box and layer them with a towel or sections of flattened newspaper to prevent breakage. Leave the ornament hangers on them to make decorating the tree easier next season. The plastic containers with lids make the ornaments, lights and decorations secured and protected from damage and you can label the tops of the containers.

We wish you a Happy New year in the garden

As the old year passes, we wish all of you a Happy New Year in the 2023 garden. Our resolution is to make gardening exciting as well as interesting, more fun, more productive and more exciting as well as interesting. Some flowers thrown in for added color. Remember that gardening is not only a hobby or past time but an experience that rewards and returns dividends in food, learning and exercise and health and strength plus a bonus of fresh air and sunshine!

The North Star and frozen January lore

During the cold month of January, Keep an eye on the North Star in the constellation of the Little Dipper which is the star in the tip of the handle of the dipper. Our weather lore for January says that if the North Star twinkles on the night of January 31, we can expect the month of February snowy and wintry. We know this is only lore because stars always twinkle in the winter because the upper atmosphere is colder. Another reason that this is only lore is that like all stars, the North Star twinkles in winter like all stars do and in February, we can expect snow and wintry weather. It’s nice to know that of all the stars in the night sky, the North Star remains in the same position and on star maps, all other stars revolve around the North Star.

Grandma kept many traditions on New Year’s

My grandma would always visit our family every week to start the new year. As for brothers, we were fortunate to have plenty of girls up and down the street as classmates, friends and playmates. On New Year’s Day, grandma was determined to carry on her New Year’s tradition. Her time honored tradition was that if a girl or woman visited your house first on New Year’s Day, you would have bad luck all year long. Grandma was always the first to rise on New Year’s Day and she would get all four of us brothers to knock on every door on the street and wish everyone a Happy New Year and wish them good luck. In the meantime, she would keep the girls at bay while every house on the street was visited by the boys. Wow! Good ole grandma! My mother also had her New Year’s traditions and two of them were that you never let the New Year catch you with parts of the old hanging around, and this included Christmas decorations which she would remove well before the New Year arrived. Still another of her traditions was never wash clothes on the Fridays before and after Christmas because you would be washing away members of the family. Where did these traditions practices originate? They probably were passed down from past relatives who brought them from countries where these practices originated. Do you ever wonder how many in this 21st Century still hold on to these practices?

The saints of the cold month of January

Every month of the year has its saints such Saint Valentine’s Day in February and Saint Patrick’s Day in March and here in the month of January. We have a couple of saints to take note of. Our first saint is Saint Knut’s Day which is celebrated on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. On his special day in Sweden, it is a time honored tradition to strip the Christmas tree of its decorations as the whole family dances behind the tree, as the father takes it out of the house and throws it into the snow. That is not a part of our tradition, we like to have our tree and all its decorations packed away before the New Year begins not because of any tradition but because they have been up since the day after Thanksgiving! My grandma always said it was bad luck to have a tree up when the new year came in. In the 21st Century, we can see why it may have been bad luck because most trees in eastern North Carolina were cedars, pines and a few hollies and Christmas bulbs were hot and caused many fires, because they had already dried out. Our January Saint number two is Saint Vincent whose special day is Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. On his day, it is said the sap rises in the maples to the trunks of the trees, but retreats very quickly when it finds snow, sleet, ice and freezing

Time to check out the seed catalogs for 2023

Most of the seed and flower catalogs for the season of 2023 have now arrived. January is the time to browse through them and check out what is new for the garden world this year. It’s best to only purchase varities that you can’t find locally because when ordering seed you have to pay shipping and handling charges that amount to over ten percent of your order and also state sales tax. Another negative factor is most seed packets only have thirty seeds or less. You will get more seed for less money when you buy seed locally at shops and hardware’s and not have to pay shipping, handling and postage.

Making a creamy chicken casserole

A creamy chicken casserole is always a good hearty meal on a winter evening. This one is easy to prepare and has simple ingredients. You will need four chicken breasts, one bag Pepperidge Farm cornbread dressing, one can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, one stick light margarine, eight once cup sour cream, one jar Heinz chicken gravy, eight ounce bag of finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, one cup milk, one teaspoon poultry seasoning, one tablespoon mayonnaise. Boil the chicken breasts, remove skin and bones and break meat into small chunks. Place half the bag of dressing in bottom of casserole dish and place chicken breast chunks on top of the dressing. Pour the milk and chicken gravy over the chicken. Mix soup, sour cream, mayonnaise, poultry seasoning and spread over the chicken. Spread shredded cheese over the top. Place remainder of dressing on top of the casserole and dot with slices of margarine. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Will serve four to six persons.

“Lesson from snowflakes”- We could all learn a lesson from tiny snow flakes. No two of them are alike, but observe how well they work together on a major task like tying up traffic on Interstate 40 and 77!

“Boring Speaker”- During a long lecture, the speaker was interrupted five times by a listener in the balcony, saying “Speak louder, speak louder.” A man on the first row stood up and said,” What’s the matter can’t you hear?” “No, I can’t hear,” said the man in the balcony. The man on front row said, “Well then, be thankful and shut up!”

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.

New titles available at the Mount Airy Public Library:

Devil’s Delight – M.C. Beaton

The Girl Who Dared to Dream – Diney Costeloe

A Christmas Memory – Richard Paul Evans

Death in the Margins – Victoria Gilbert

The Twist of A Knife – Anthony Horowitz

The Perfect Assassin – James Patterson

A World of Curiosities – Louise Penny

A Sliver of Darkness – C.J. Tudor

Fifteen Hurricanes That Changed the Carolinas – Jay Barnes

The Nazi’s Knew My Name – Magda Hellinger – B

Voice of Fear – Heather Graham

All I Want for Christmas – Maggie Knox

Once Upon a December – Amy E. Reichert

The Trials of Harry S. Truman -Jeffrey Frank – B

The Nazi’s Knew My Name – Magda Hellinger – B

STEAMed Up Tuesdays from 4 — 5 p.m. Interactive fun and learning for youth in grades 4 through 6.

Hooked – Join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Open for all skill levels. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi Fridays. Experience meditation in motion, 10 a.m. every Friday in the Multipurpose Room All skill levels are welcome.

It’s Yoga Y’all!!! – Join Ms. Heather on the third Saturday of the month at 10:30 am.

Chapters Book Club – meets the third Thursday of the month at 11:30. Members discuss the different books they have read.

The library will be closed Dec. 23 – Dec. 27 for the Christmas Holidays.

Join us Thursday, Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. for a Makerspace Party. Explore and use our new Makerspace materials: Dash the Robot, Code and Go Robot Mouse, Nintendo Switches…

The library will be closed Dec. 31 – Jan. 2 for the New Year’s Holiday.

VITA Tax Preparation – Appointments to have your taxes done will run from Jan. 28 to April 8.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

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.

New titles available at the Mount Airy Public Library:

Secrets of the Nile – Tasha Alexander

Peg and Rose Solve a Murder – Lauren Berenson

The Witch in the Well – Camilla Bruce

It Starts With Us – Colleen Hoover

Reminders of Him – Colleen Hoover

Jacqueline in Paris – Ann Mah

Ghost Eaters – Clay McLeod Chapman

Sometimes People Die – Simon Stephenson

The Year of the Puppy – Alexandra Horowitz

Over My Dead Body – Greg Melville

Next in Line – Jeffrey Archer

It Starts With Us – Colleen Hoover

Making a Scene – Constance Wu – (biography)

STEAMed Up Tuesdays from 4 — 5 p.m. Interactive fun and learning for youth in grades 4 through 6.

Hooked – Join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Open for all skill levels. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Crimes and Crafts is the final Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. A new book club for adults that focuses on murder, mayhem, true crime and other tales of terror. The first meeting will be Dec. 20 and the first book will be “The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper” by Hallie Rubenhold.

Tai Chi Fridays. Experience meditation in motion, 10 a.m. every Friday in the Multipurpose Room All skill levels are welcome.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month’s book is Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb.

Chapters Book Club – meets the third Thursday of the month at 11:30. Members discuss the different books they have read.

Toy Trains from Grandpa’s Attic, a presentation by Eric Cook, will be Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. Learn about antique toy trains and see some examples from the 1890s to the 1950s.

On Dec. 22 the Christmas movie “The Polar Express” will be played at 2 p.m., followed by Cookies with Santa and Mrs. Santa Claus at 4 p.m. will be on hand pictures with him and the missus.

The library will be closed Dec. 23 – Dec. 27 for the Christmas Holidays.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

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

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, 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.

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.

The Embers featuring Craig Woolard will be performing in Mount Airy on Thursday at the Andy Griffith Playhouse.

The band presents its Christmas show featuring holiday favorites and a few visitors, such as Frosty, Rudolph, and friends. The stage is magically transformed into a holiday showplace, setting the mood for holiday cheer and even a little snow.

“The Embers are widely considered a musical marvel and have laid the groundwork for what has become known as Beach Music in the Carolinas, Virginias, the gulf coast region of North America and every beach in between,” concert organizers with the Surry Arts Council said. “They are a true musical tradition with which many Americans have listened to from childhood to adulthood. The Embers consider the genre of Beach Music as ‘music with a memory’ and have been creating lasting memories since its inception in 1958.”

Today, touring is commonplace for The Embers regularly boasting an average of 225 shows per year. They also embark on a cruise each year for their friends and fans to various locations throughout the Caribbean. And don’t miss their Christmas show in Mount Airy.

The concert on Dec. 15 begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for preferred seating and $25 for crchestra seating. Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. Tickets will be available at the door one hour prior to the performance subject to availability. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org.

STEAMed Up Tuesdays from 4 — 5 p.m. Interactive fun and learning for youth in grades 4 through 6.

Hooked – Join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Open for all skill levels. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi Fridays. Experience meditation in motion, 10 a.m. every Friday in the Multipurpose Room All skill levels are welcome.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month’s book is The Tannery by Michael A. Almond.

Chapters Book Club – meets the third Thursday of the month at 11:30. Members discuss the different books they have read.

Author Michael A. Almond, who has written one book that is set in North Carolina, “The Tannery,” will visit the library on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.

Surviving the Holidays with Diabetes will be the subject of a presentation on Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. Recipes and useful tips to help manage diabetes during the holidays will be presented by Carmen Long from the NC Cooperative Extension Agency and Kelly Whittington from the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center.

Toy Trains from Grandpa’s Attic, a presentation by Eric Cook, will be Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. Learn about antique toy trains and see some examples from the 1890s to the 1950s.

On Dec. 22 the Christmas movie “The Polar Express” will be played at 2 p.m., followed by Cookies with Santa and Mrs. Santa Claus at 4 p.m. will be on hand pictures with him and the missus.

The library will be closed Dec. 23 – Dec. 27 for the Christmas Holidays.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

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.

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.

The Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its Annual Granite City Chicken Stew Sale on Tuesday, Dec. 6. A quart of stew sells for $14 and will serve two people. The purchase includes chicken stew, crackers, utensils, a sweet treat and a carrying bag. All proceeds of the sale go to support the programs of the chamber.

Orders can be placed on the chamber website, www.mtairyncchamber.org or at the chamber’s Facebook page: @MountAiryChamber. Phone orders can be placed by calling 336-401-2875. Pickup will be at 119 Moore Avenue in Mount Airy on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Delivery of a larger number or orders can be arranged.

Chamber officials said they wanted to extend thanks to the event sponsors: Gold Level — Wayne Farms and Frontier Natural Gas; Bronze Level, Dr. John L. Gravitte, DDS; and Sweet Treat Sponsor, Uncorked Wine Shop.

What if one of the world’s most celebrated authors got writer’s block—at the worst possible time? That’s the basic premise behind “Uncle Charlie’s Christmas Carol,” the NoneSuch Playmakers’ 2022 holiday production.

It’s November 1843, and in his London home, Charles Dickens, played by David Nielsen, is attempting, without success, to finish his latest story. He’s facing a deadline, and the world is waiting for his much-anticipated “Christmas Carol.”

Dickens’ frustrations are multiplied by the arrival of two houseguests—his young nieces Elizabeth, played by Ava Chrismon, and Margaret, portrayed by Salem Poindexter, both aspiring writers who idolize their famous uncle. When the precocious girls realize that the great author is literally at a loss for words, they offer their assistance— to help Dickens see the story in a new way. He is reluctant at first, but as the collaboration develops the story comes to life.

“This is where the magic begins,” said Brack Llewellyn, who wrote the play and directs it along with his wife and NoneSuch co-founder Angela Llewellyn. “Dickens assumes the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. As the three writers combine their ideas, the familiar characters appear—Bob Cratchit (Jake Pack), Jacob Marley (Brian Greene), the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Jessica Wood) Present (Chris Powell) and Future (Bill Colvard), along with younger versions of Scrooge himself (Jecht Frost and Rowan Bunton). Physically, we never leave Dickens’ study, but we travel beyond its walls through the imagination of the playwrights.”

Throughout the play, passages from the original story are combined with new dialogue. Dickens, as Scrooge, steps in and out of character to advance the tale. The girls, acting as muses, will sometimes speak the familiar lines along with the characters they have created, interact with them, or make small dialogue changes during the scenes.

“Pure imagination,” Llewellyn commented. “At this moment all these characters exist only in the minds of Dickens, Margaret and Elizabeth. The audience is invited to share in their creative process as the story we all know as ‘A Christmas Carol’ is born.”

The large cast also includes Angela Llewellyn, Janelle Matzdorf, Dani Ashley Davis, Branden Macie, Adella Smith, Toby Bunton, Noel Bryant, Olivia Jessup, Kezia Bryant, Alyssa Mitchem, Jonas Bryant, Xavier Aviles, Rachel Macie, Timothy Carpenter, Lily Thomas, Billie Jo Smith, Angela Bryant, Meredith Dowdy and Petyr Bryant.

Performances of “Uncle Charlie’s Christmas Carol” are Friday Dec. 9 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m.. All performances will be held at the L.H.Jones Auditorium, 215 Jones School Road, Mount Airy. These are “pay what you can” performances. There is no set ticket price. The Playmakers ask that you pay only what your budget can afford. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the work of the Surry County Senior Center.

Learn more about the work of the NoneSuch Playmakers and their 21-year history at www.nonesuchplaymakers.com.

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.

One of the most beloved holiday traditions returns to the stage in Mount Airy. New York’s Ballet For Young Audiences will delight audiences both young and old with their performance of “The Nutcracker” at the Andy Griffith Playhouse this weekend.

The Nutcracker tells the story of Clara, a young girl on the brink of womanhood whose dreams are both childlike and tinged with romance. She is the favorite godchild of Herr Drosselmeyer, a mysterious clockmaker, who helps to transport Clara and her Nutcracker Prince to a special realm where she witnesses a daring battle, is transported through the Land of Sweets, and meets the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Audiences will also see some familiar faces on stage with the professional dance company. Local dancers Evelyn Casstevens, Reese Cox, Aria Dickerson, Addison Etringer, Jenna Hawks, Prim Hawks, Averie Horton, Ellie Kniskern, Sidney Petree, Emory Thomas, and Charlotte Wright have learned the choreography and will rehearse with the company before taking the stage to help tell the story.

Ballet for Young Audiences was established in 1985 as an adjunct company to the Rockefellers Traveling Playhouse and became a non-profit company in 1994. It appears regularly in New York City on the Schooltime Series at the Tisch Performing Arts Center and at Town Hall. In addition, the company performs frequently at Queens Theater in the Park, LaGuardia College, Queens College, and Flushing Town Hall, also in the New York area. They have danced at Performing Arts Centers as far west as Texas A&M, and throughout North Carolina, Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. They were also featured regularly on Channel MNN’s Children’s Series and their production of Nutcracker was highlighted on NYCTV. The ballet “Spring Song” was performed in 2011 at the 13th Nanning International Folk Song Arts Festival in China, televised to an audience of 800 million.

This production is a narrated 60- to 70-minute version of the timeless holiday tale which makes it the perfect experience for the entire family.

The show on Sunday, Dec. 4 begins at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org.

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.”

While the line-up of musicians and singers might trade back and forth just a bit from the first night to the second, and even a new musician may make an appearance every once in a while, most of the annual Candlelight Christmas in Rockford ceremony remains the same from year to year.

And that’s okay with chief organizer Hannah Holyfield. Apparently, it’s also okay with fans of the annual Christmas observance, given that the Rockford Methodist Church, in the village of Rockford, is almost always packed for both nights of the gathering.

“I really believe it’s people just feel like once we’ve done Rockford now Christmas can begin,” she said of one reason behind the annual services’ popularity. “That’s what people tell me every year.”

Another reason is that the quiet service, in the small church which hearkens to a time before Smartphones and the Internet, even before a time of cable television for many parts of the county, seems to pull at something in the area residents and visitors who attend one of the two gatherings.

“I think it’s just the variety of music, the church, the candlelight, the atmosphere of the old church, the hot cider, the cookies. It’s a tradition people have enjoyed, and I hope we can continue for a long time.”

Much like previous years, both the services — set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 and again on Friday, Dec. 2 — will be centered around a variety of holiday music.

Dr. Gena Poovey, professor of music at Limestone University in Gaffney, South Carolina, will again be performing both nights. Poovey is as much a part of the tradition as the candles and the 108-year-old church, being the only singer or musician who has performed at the event every year. She was instrumental in helping to start the tradition that has become Candlelight Christmas in Rockford. She will be accompanied by Diana Johnson on Thursday and by Adam Rudisill on Friday.

On Thursday, others performing will include Beth Cook, Wendy and Johnny Dearmin, the Marshall Brothers and High Road, along with the Surry Central High School Chorus directed by Angie Smith.

On Friday, Gene and Betty Anderson and Friends, Gaynell and Michael Lambert along with Jade Kiger and Amy Honeycutt will be performing.

Holyfield said the different performers represent a wide variety of musical styles, from blue grass to folk, from traditional church music to contemporary Christmas songs. And Poovey, a classically trained singer, performs sections of “The Messiah.”

This year marks the 32nd consecutive year for the event, started by Poovey and the Evelyn Holyfield (Hannah Holyfield’s husband’s aunt and founder of the Rockford Preservation Society). Even in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions limited gatherings, Hannah Holyfield said they were able to get the participating musicians to record music and submit it, so she and other organizers could hold a virtual Candlelight Christmas via social media outlets.

“That was our 30th year, there was no way we were not going to do something,” she said.

Because parking at the church is limited, Holyfield said YVEDDI offers free shuttle service from a nearby parking lot to the church.

She does urge folks to arrive early because the church usually fills up for services.

“We can usually get about 100 or so, maybe a little bit more, each night.”

Candlelight Christmas in Rockford started out as a one-night concert, but by 1999, Holyfield said it had outgrown the church building.

“That year we had 247 people show up for the program…The whole church was lined around the walls, people standing out on the walk listening. After that, we decided to go to two nights.”

The services begin at 7 p.m. each day. Parking at the church is limited, but shuttle van service, provided by YVEDDI, will be available from the Rockford Baptist Church parking lot beginning at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served following each program.

Story time is here for kids of all ages. Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. is Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3; Thursday at 9:30 a.m. is Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old; and on Thursday at 11 a.m. is Preschool Storytime for ages 4-5.

STEAMed Up Tuesdays from 4 — 5 p.m. Interactive fund and learning for youth in grades 4 through 6.

Hooked – Join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Open for all skill levels. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Crimes and Crafts is the final Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. A new book club for adults that focuses on murder, mayhem, true crime and other tales of terror. The first meeting will be Dec. 20 and our first book will be “The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper” by Hallie Rubenhold.

Tai Chi Fridays – Experience meditation in motion, 10 a.m. every Friday in the Multipurpose Room All skill levels are welcome.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month’s book is The Tannery by Michael A. Almond.

Chapters Book Club – meets the third Thursday of the month at 11:30. Members discuss the different books they have read.

It’s Yoga Y’all is held on the third Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m., unless otherwise noted.

Front Porch Holiday Decoration on Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Join us for a free hands-on workshop taught by Master Gardener Robin Portis. Registration is required. You will need to bring the planter of your choice. It may be any size, and needs to be full of soil. The soil does not need to be new, it can be from a previous planting. Your planter will need to be watered thoroughly the day before the workshop and kept where it will not freeze. Call 336-789-5108 to register. Questions? Call the NC State Cooperative Extension Center, Surry County at 335-401-8025.

Author Michael A. Almond, who has written one book that is set in North Carolina, “The Tannery,” will visit the library on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.

Surviving the Holidays with Diabetes will be the subject of a presentation on Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. Recipes and useful tips to help manage diabetes during the holidayswill be presented by Carmen Long from the NC Cooperative Extension Agency and Kelly Whittington from theSurry County Health and Nutrition Center.

Toy Trains from Grandpa’s Attic, a presentation by Eric Cook, will be Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. Learn about antique toy trains and see some examples from the 1890s to the 1950s.

On Dec. 22 the Christmas movie “The Polar Express” will be played at 2 p.m., followed by Cookies with Santa and Mrs. Santa Claus at 4 p.m. will be onhand pictures with him and the missus.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

Millennium Charter Academy in Mount Airy is inviting the public to a freshened version of the holiday classic “A Christmas Carol.”

Reimagined by MCA teacher Eric Cook, the resetting of a classic tale from Victorian London to depression era North Carolina will give the production an opportunity to present the well-known tale in a unique way.

“This show will help launch the holiday season as its being done right after Thanksgiving and it helps us remember the reason for the holiday. It isn’t all about stuff, rather it is about community, being together, and helping our fellow human,” director Anderson Rouse said.

Cook explained, “A Christmas Carol is such a well-known and well-worn tale that it is always helpful to give it a fresh face-lift, a little fresh perspective to make it new again. So, we thought combining a classic tale with local culture was a great way to give it some new life and some additional relevance.”

“If you want people to understand the story and you want them to have the sort of emotional and aesthetic reaction to it Dickens intended, you need to make it fresh for their eyes and ears,” he said.

“When we discussed the production, we decided that moving it to a small town in North Carolina and setting it in a time which everyone understands as a period of economic suffering and struggle, the Great Depression, would help. It just made so much sense because it would be both familiar but new,” Cook explained.

“Yes, Scrooge still has to say, ‘Bah Humbug’,” Rouse clarified, “But it does allow us to do things with staging and dialogue.”

It is a tale that is beloved by many and Cook is no exception, “It is a very important work for me personally because it crosses a lot of favorite bridges – it is a family melodrama, it is a ghost story, it is a story of social reform, it is a Victorian tale, and most importantly it is a story of redemption, forgiveness, charity and love.”

After having released two flops, Dickens was feeling the pressure to churn out something that would sell, Cook explained “he, in the fever of a few weeks, created a miniature masterpiece” in the tale still being told today of Scrooge, ghostly visages, other worldly visions. Adding in those supernatural elements into a story about the holidays and redemption seems to have been a winning formula for Dickens as readers still flock to the tale.

Cook said, “Most people today know it from a film adaptation or perhaps from reading it in middle or high school… but unless you read it frequently or very closely it is easy to miss a lot of intriguing details in the story.

“One thing I tried to do when adapting the play was look for those over-looked clues in the story and flesh them out with my own imagination, because Dickens often implies things or hints at things, but doesn’t develop them.”

Moving the story in location and time will not affect the message of the story known so well. Rouse said that some of the themes are universal and work whether the play was still set in London. “Times were rough then, especially for families. Like a lot of families today, it was hard to make ends meet. Those feelings and emotions translate.”

Cook said he drew from history and the experiences of locals of that time for his adaptation. “I combined information from local Mount Airy stories, regional history and old newspapers, and the stories and experiences of my own family members living in another part of the Appalachian Mountains.

“The South has such a rich local culture and the Great Depression in many ways seemed a perfect fit because it was a time when so many people were suffering but the people who came through that time also saw it as a time of growth and testing and often spoke fondly of making the best of those times.”

What is considered one of the great stories of the holidays was not generously received by Samuel Clemens, who said, “There is no heart. No feeling—it is nothing but glittering frostwork.” It would seem Mark Twain’s opinion did not align with the overall reception to the tale of Scrooge’s rough night.

Millennium Charter Academy is offering another novel way to enjoy the show when they will present the show in a dinner theater performance Saturday. There will still be general admission seats available for that show, but half the audience he said would be seated for the dinner. “As humans our senses are engaged in so many ways. With dinner theater we can engage the sense of taste and smell as well,” Rouse said.

“Dinner theater is a great way to connect with the community and engage with the audience. With the unique setting of the play and in a context our audience will find familiar…it’s an innovative adaptation that people here have never seen before,” he said.

Cook offered that, “Dickens’ message of forgiveness, love, and charity is a message we all need to hear, over and over again, in as many different ways as possible. His message, for me, isn’t quite the true or fullest meaning of Christmas, but he gets pretty close, and it is a rip-snort of a great story.”

“Attending the show is a way of helping your fellow human,” Rouse said. “Going to the show prevents you from being a Scrooge yourself.”

Showtimes are Thursday and Friday, Dec 1-2, at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. in the Upper School Gym at Millennium Charter Academy, 500 Old Springs Rd., Mount Airy.

General Admission tickets for the show are $7, $5 for students. Tickets for the dinner theater meal and performance are $20 with proceeds from the show will help future productions.

Surry Central student McKenna Merritt’s artwork was selected by Art Educators attending the 2022 NCAEA Conference in Wilmington to represent this region at the North Carolina General Assembly Youth Art Exhibit.

Her work is titled “Persona Non Grata.” The purpose of this exhibit is to showcase the creativity of students in North Carolina. She is a sophomore and in AP Art taught by Stephanie Miller.

Books available to check out at the Mount Airy Public Library include:

Blood Moon – Heather Graham & Jon Land

Murder at Black Oaks – Phillip Margolin

Brothers and Wives – Christopher Anderson

Cabin Fever – Michael Smith & Jonathan Franklin

The Pope at War – David I. Kertzer

I’ll Show Myself Out – Jessi Klein

Because Our Fathers Lied – Craig McNamara

The Monster’s Bones – David K. Randal

Eating to Extinction -Dan Saladino

Off the Edge – Kelly Weill

The Mount Airy Public Library will be closed Nov, 24-25 for Thanksgiving.

Reading time is here for kids of all ages. Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. is Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3; Thursday at 9:30 a.m. is Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old; and on Thursday at 11 a.m. is Preschool Storytime for ages 4-5.

The Gentle Hearts Book Club meets Mondays at 10 a.m. is a new club for adults that focuses on sweet romance.

STEAMed Up Tuesdays from 4 — 5 p.m. Interactive fund and learning for youth in grades 4 through 6.

Hooked – Join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Open for all skill levels. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Crimes and Crafts is the final Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. A new book club for adults that focuses on murder, mayhem, true crime and other tales of terror. The first meeting will be Dec. 20 and our first book will be “The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper” by Hallie Rubenhold.

Tai Chi Fridays – Experience meditation in motion, 10 a.m. every Friday in the Multipurpose Room All skill levels are welcome.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. This month’s book is The Tannery by Michael A. Almond.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Discussion questions will be posted on Facebook.

Chapters Book Club – meets the third Thursday of the month at 11:30. Members discuss the different books they have read.

It’s Yoga Y’all is held on the third Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m., unless otherwise noted.

The library is in need of a programming assistant. This is a 32-hour full time position with benefits. You will be working with school aged children and teenagers. You must have knowledge of STEAM, computers, robotics, Makerspaces, VR, etc. Knowing how to use social media is a must as we do a lot of our advertising through this medium. Some nights and Saturdays are required as these activities would need to be done after school hours. For more details visit https://nwrlibrary.org/job-openings/

The Friends of the Mount Airy Public Library Fall Book Sale continues on Monday, Nov. 21. Browse, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Author Michael A. Almond, who has written one book that is set in North Carolina, “The Tannery,” will visit the library on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.

Toy Trains from Grandpa’s Attic, a presentation by Eric Cook, will be Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. Learn about antique toy trains and see some examples from the 1890s to the 1950s.

On Dec. 22 the Christmas movie “The Polar Express” will be played at 2 p.m., followed by Cookies with Santa and Mrs. Santa Claus at 4 p.m. will be onhand pictures with him and the missus.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

The Surry Arts Council is accepting applications for North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Arts Program subgrants through Friday, Dec. 9.

Since 1977, the North Carolina Arts Council’s Grassroots Arts Program has provided North Carolina citizens access to quality arts experiences. Using a per capita based formula, the program provides funding for the arts in all 100 counties of the state through partnerships with local arts councils. The Surry Arts Council serves as the North Carolina Arts Council’s partner in awarding subgrants to local organizations for arts programs in Surry County.

Applications are available for non-profit organizations whose purpose is to promote and develop diverse cultural arts programming in Surry County. Funding priority is given to qualified arts organizations, arts in education programs conducted by qualified artists, and other community organizations that provide arts programs in the county. Grassroots funds are not generally awarded to arts organizations that receive funding through the N.C. Arts Council’s State Arts Resources. Projects must occur and reports must be received before May 31, 2023.

Application forms and grant guidelines are available on the N.C. Arts Council website at www.ncarts.org or may be picked up at the Surry Arts Council office Monday – Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Applications must be received no later than Friday, Dec. 9. Award notifications will be made on or before Monday Dec. 19.

Applications may be mailed to the Surry Arts Council, PO Box 141, Mount Airy, NC 27030, emailed to marianna@surryarts.org, faxed to 336-786-9822, or dropped by the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street.

Call 336-786-7998 or email tanya@surryarts.org with any questions regarding this application or if you need assistance in completion.

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.

Books available to check out at the Mount Airy Public Library include:

And Justice For All – E.J. Copperman

Racing the Light – Robert Crais

The Thread Collectors – Shaunna J. Edwards

Sand Dollar Lane – Sheila Roberts

The Last to Disappear – Jo Spain

How Not to Drown In a Glass of Water – Angie Cruz

The World is Not Enough (Biography of Ian Fleming) Oliver Buckton

The Bald Eagle – Jack E. Davis

Battle for the American Mind – Pete Hegseth

The Far Land – Brandon Presser

The End of Craving – Mark Schatzker