Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Water Features on The Cove at Celo Mountain
BELOVED BEAUTY
Happy Holidays from The Cove at Celo Mountain
Happy Holidays from The Cove at Celo Mountain
ON HUNTING AND FISHING: A CULTURAL VIGNETTE FROM OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER
In case you can’t read the photo captions from the newspaper:
RAINBOW TROUT – Tim Peterson caught a 6 ¼ lb, 25-inch Rainbow Trout on South Toe (River) Wednesday evening, December 9. (Yancey Common Times Journal – December 16, 2009 – Page 16)
AVERY GETS FIRST DEER – Avery Black killed his first deer on Friday, November 27, 2009. He is 9 years old and shot a 9-point. Avery is the son of Mike and Mary Beth Black of Bakers Creek Road. (Yancey Common Times Journal – December 16, 2009 – Page 16)
JOHN’S FIRST MOUSE OF SEASON – John D. Richards of Burnsville kills his first mouse of the season, a one ounce no count rodent, using peanut butter and a Victor trap. Wife, Claudia, is most proud. Oscar, the cat, is embarrassed. Visitors to TRAC’s Studio Tour this weekend can talk to John about his trophy mouse at Yummy Mud Puddle studio in Burnsville. (Yancey Common Times Journal – December 2, 2009 – Page 5)
Fishing and Hunting are two of the favorite sports enjoyed by outdoor enthusiasts in our area – by all age groups. It is a rite of passage in this mountain heritage for young boys to kill their first deer. Driving along our back roads, it is not uncommon to see an ornamental deer sculpture in the yard made out of a resinous material with numerous gouges in the ornament. This is not yard decoration but bow and arrow target practice for the young boys of the family in preparation for this time of multi-generational male bonding – akin to that from Robert Bly's book, Iron John. There are seasons on deer for bow and arrow hunting as well as gun kills. Read our blog about Mountain Heritage High School, "A Brotherhood of Players", to understand more of our accomplished youth and their local culture.
Among our many acclaimed artists and craftsmen is local icon, John D. Richards. He is pictured with his first mouse of the season. This sort of thoughtful humor informs his art as well. This is from his website, “ You may have seen his work in Tiffany & Co., Bonwit Teller, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, The Museum of Contemporary Crafts NYC, The Museum of Modern Art, Jacksonville FL & various publications: House & Garden, American Home, Playboy, Asheville Citizen Times, Yancey Common Times Journal, Southern Living Magazine, The New York Times, The London Times, Folio & the prestigious Saint Augustine Record to name a few.He has also subjected the unsuspecting public to his art in his various gallery stores: Impressions in Long Branch NJ, The Temple of Great Art No Spitting in Saint Augustine FL, and Yummy Mud Puddle in Provincetown MA, Nyack NY & now Burnsville NC. Enjoy the madness!"
John and his wife, Claudia Dunaway – also an artist, are part of a local band, Hot Duck Soup. They also have a vacation rental with the same name as the studio, Yummy Mud Puddle,
http://www.yummymudpuddle.com/vacationhome.htm
For more about John:
http://www.hotducksoup.net/pages/john.html
http://www.yummymudpuddle.com/
http://www.yummymudpuddle.com/john/john.htm.
In case you can’t read the photo captions from the newspaper:
RAINBOW TROUT – Tim Peterson caught a 6 ¼ lb, 25-inch Rainbow Trout on South Toe (River) Wednesday evening, December 9. (Yancey Common Times Journal – December 16, 2009 – Page 16)
AVERY GETS FIRST DEER – Avery Black killed his first deer on Friday, November 27, 2009. He is 9 years old and shot a 9-point. Avery is the son of Mike and Mary Beth Black of Bakers Creek Road. (Yancey Common Times Journal – December 16, 2009 – Page 16)
JOHN’S FIRST MOUSE OF SEASON – John D. Richards of Burnsville kills his first mouse of the season, a one ounce no count rodent, using peanut butter and a Victor trap. Wife, Claudia, is most proud. Oscar, the cat, is embarrassed. Visitors to TRAC’s Studio Tour this weekend can talk to John about his trophy mouse at Yummy Mud Puddle studio in Burnsville. (Yancey Common Times Journal – December 2, 2009 – Page 5)
Fishing and Hunting are two of the favorite sports enjoyed by outdoor enthusiasts in our area – by all age groups. It is a rite of passage in this mountain heritage for young boys to kill their first deer. Driving along our back roads, it is not uncommon to see an ornamental deer sculpture in the yard made out of a resinous material with numerous gouges in the ornament. This is not yard decoration but bow and arrow target practice for the young boys of the family in preparation for this time of multi-generational male bonding – akin to that from Robert Bly's book, Iron John. There are seasons on deer for bow and arrow hunting as well as gun kills. Read our blog about Mountain Heritage High School, "A Brotherhood of Players", to understand more of our accomplished youth and their local culture.
Among our many acclaimed artists and craftsmen is local icon, John D. Richards. He is pictured with his first mouse of the season. This sort of thoughtful humor informs his art as well. This is from his website, “ You may have seen his work in Tiffany & Co., Bonwit Teller, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, The Museum of Contemporary Crafts NYC, The Museum of Modern Art, Jacksonville FL & various publications: House & Garden, American Home, Playboy, Asheville Citizen Times, Yancey Common Times Journal, Southern Living Magazine, The New York Times, The London Times, Folio & the prestigious Saint Augustine Record to name a few.He has also subjected the unsuspecting public to his art in his various gallery stores: Impressions in Long Branch NJ, The Temple of Great Art No Spitting in Saint Augustine FL, and Yummy Mud Puddle in Provincetown MA, Nyack NY & now Burnsville NC. Enjoy the madness!"
John and his wife, Claudia Dunaway – also an artist, are part of a local band, Hot Duck Soup. They also have a vacation rental with the same name as the studio, Yummy Mud Puddle,
http://www.yummymudpuddle.com/vacationhome.htm
For more about John:
http://www.hotducksoup.net/pages/john.html
http://www.yummymudpuddle.com/
http://www.yummymudpuddle.com/john/john.htm.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
A Brotherhood of Players
Well, this is the stuff of which movies are made. Yancey County's only high school, Mountain Heritage High School, never ceases to amaze. Approached on a winding, wooded drive after passing the guard house, the beautiful campus looks more like a community college in one of our nation's larger cities than a public high school in a small town in the Appalachian Mountains. From an award-winning drama department, to a campus warehouse where students build a Habitat for Humanity house on-site with help from community volunteers, to crafting bowls for Empty Bowl Benefits for local/world hunger relief, to painting Quilt Trail blocks in art classes to support the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina non-profit, the students of this small Blue Ridge Mountain school excel in academics, the arts, service, and athletics.
This football story would seem typical of Texas or Oklahoma but not so much for this small enclave of mountain communities outside of Asheville more renowned for internationally and nationally acclaimed artists than athletic powerhouses. A similar underdog story happened not too far from here on one of our college campuses, but this is our high school. The local paper dubs it, "the brotherhood of players." This is from the Yancey Common Times Journal, "Only two years ago, the Cougars suffered through a 0-11 season, one of three winless seasons over the past 10 years. In a seven-year period before the 2008 season, Mountain Heritage had won 13 games, total." This weekend, on December 12, 2009, the Cougars lost in the State Championship game to a team with a 13-1 record. The real story, though, is in the heroic effort of the team that was equalled by the magnanimous support of their hometown citizens. Local law enforcement officials provided a "dignitary's" escort for the busloads of students and players who were followed by a caravan of supporters, parents and fans with MHHS banners flying from their car antennae. Schools, stores, and businesses closed down to follow the team to Chapel Hill for the game of the year. This football program turnaround was envisioned and planned by a coach who "changed the culture of Cougar football" and the players who claim a brotherhood from their days in little league. As one player said, "It's not just about football." This is small-town America at its best - a great heartland story reflective of the adaptive spirit of perseverance and hard work seen through the generations of men and women who have lived here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and a school most aptly named - Mountain Heritage.
For slideshow highlights of the championship game: http://www.highschoolot.com/content/image_gallery/6601368/
For award listings including Coach of the Year, Player of the Year and other standouts on this standout team:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091211/SPORTS0203/91211040/1002/sports/LIVE-BLOG-at-7-Mtn.-Heritage-vs.-Tarboro-in-state-title-football-game
Well, this is the stuff of which movies are made. Yancey County's only high school, Mountain Heritage High School, never ceases to amaze. Approached on a winding, wooded drive after passing the guard house, the beautiful campus looks more like a community college in one of our nation's larger cities than a public high school in a small town in the Appalachian Mountains. From an award-winning drama department, to a campus warehouse where students build a Habitat for Humanity house on-site with help from community volunteers, to crafting bowls for Empty Bowl Benefits for local/world hunger relief, to painting Quilt Trail blocks in art classes to support the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina non-profit, the students of this small Blue Ridge Mountain school excel in academics, the arts, service, and athletics.
This football story would seem typical of Texas or Oklahoma but not so much for this small enclave of mountain communities outside of Asheville more renowned for internationally and nationally acclaimed artists than athletic powerhouses. A similar underdog story happened not too far from here on one of our college campuses, but this is our high school. The local paper dubs it, "the brotherhood of players." This is from the Yancey Common Times Journal, "Only two years ago, the Cougars suffered through a 0-11 season, one of three winless seasons over the past 10 years. In a seven-year period before the 2008 season, Mountain Heritage had won 13 games, total." This weekend, on December 12, 2009, the Cougars lost in the State Championship game to a team with a 13-1 record. The real story, though, is in the heroic effort of the team that was equalled by the magnanimous support of their hometown citizens. Local law enforcement officials provided a "dignitary's" escort for the busloads of students and players who were followed by a caravan of supporters, parents and fans with MHHS banners flying from their car antennae. Schools, stores, and businesses closed down to follow the team to Chapel Hill for the game of the year. This football program turnaround was envisioned and planned by a coach who "changed the culture of Cougar football" and the players who claim a brotherhood from their days in little league. As one player said, "It's not just about football." This is small-town America at its best - a great heartland story reflective of the adaptive spirit of perseverance and hard work seen through the generations of men and women who have lived here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and a school most aptly named - Mountain Heritage.
For slideshow highlights of the championship game: http://www.highschoolot.com/content/image_gallery/6601368/
For award listings including Coach of the Year, Player of the Year and other standouts on this standout team:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091211/SPORTS0203/91211040/1002/sports/LIVE-BLOG-at-7-Mtn.-Heritage-vs.-Tarboro-in-state-title-football-game
Charles Osgood on Asheville and Retirement
Anchor, CBS News Sunday Morning; "The Osgood File," CBS Radio
"Not Your Grandfather's Retirement:
Aging Baby Boomers Aren't Content Spending Their Post-Career Years Idle And Are Finding New Ways To Retire"
To watch this aired special with Charles Osgood and hear (and read) his interviews with area residents, please log on to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/17/sunday/main5021054.shtml
Anchor, CBS News Sunday Morning; "The Osgood File," CBS Radio
"Not Your Grandfather's Retirement:
Aging Baby Boomers Aren't Content Spending Their Post-Career Years Idle And Are Finding New Ways To Retire"
To watch this aired special with Charles Osgood and hear (and read) his interviews with area residents, please log on to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/17/sunday/main5021054.shtml
Sunday, December 6, 2009
+artistree+001.jpg)
GUIDED ART AND CRAFT TOURS
IN MITCHELL AND YANCEY COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA
If you missed the Toe River Arts Council Studio Tour this past weekend, not to worry!
Jane Willig and Robin Warden, owners of ARTISTREE, can do guided, personal Tours for you by reservation. These can be designed around specific art mediums or artists. Travel is available by van or in your own vehicle. Cost for full-day tours are $50 per person; half-day tours are $35 per person (for minimum of 4 and maximum of 12 persons.) For groups smaller than 4, the cost is $150 full-day and $105 half-day.
2010 Tour Schedule (in addition to personalized tours)
Painting and Photography - Apr 24
Garden and Folk Art - May 15
Toe River Arts Council Studio Tour - June 11, 12, 13
Glass Studios - July 17
Clay Studios - Aug 14
Clay and Glass Studios - Sept 25
Iron and Furniture - Oct 16
Wearable Art - Nov 6
Toe River Arts Council Studio Tour - Dec 3, 4, 5
Artistree Consultants Offer
• Private in-home consultations or small group demonstrations with a virtual gallery of art
• Tours to local artisans studios to choose artwork
• Collaboration to customize site-specific artwork
• Coordination of installation of art, in your home or business
Contact them at www.artistreenc.com or at 828-675-5868
Spruce Pine, North Carolina and Silicon Valley Secrets
Small-town America is still producing giants in all fields of industry. It just so happens this giant is found in a microchip. Spruce Pine quartz is the purest in the world and is used in every computer on earth. From the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to Al Jazerra, this news is now making its way around the world.
The photos are courtesy of: Alexander S. Glover, PG
Corporate Director of Mining and Environment Active Minerals International, LLC
These are the comments Alex sent along with the photos:
"Attached is one of the actual photos from the BBC story that I took. This photo is of the Spruce Pine Pegmatite including a large muscovite crystal being held by one of the BBC reporters.
This photo (of the pegmatite boulder)is one of the Spruce Pine Pegmatite. The quartz that is used as the feed for the high purity quartz does not occur as single quartz in the ore but as a matrix of the pegmatite which includes about 65% Feldspar,25% quartz, 8% Mica-mainly Muscovite, and a trace of other minerals. The pegmatite is crushed and chemically separated from the other minerals in a very specific process."
Small-town America is still producing giants in all fields of industry. It just so happens this giant is found in a microchip. Spruce Pine quartz is the purest in the world and is used in every computer on earth. From the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to Al Jazerra, this news is now making its way around the world.
The photos are courtesy of: Alexander S. Glover, PG
Corporate Director of Mining and Environment Active Minerals International, LLC
These are the comments Alex sent along with the photos:
"Attached is one of the actual photos from the BBC story that I took. This photo is of the Spruce Pine Pegmatite including a large muscovite crystal being held by one of the BBC reporters.
This photo (of the pegmatite boulder)is one of the Spruce Pine Pegmatite. The quartz that is used as the feed for the high purity quartz does not occur as single quartz in the ore but as a matrix of the pegmatite which includes about 65% Feldspar,25% quartz, 8% Mica-mainly Muscovite, and a trace of other minerals. The pegmatite is crushed and chemically separated from the other minerals in a very specific process."
The BBC article August 2, 2009: “Silicon Valley’s Secret Recipe: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8178580.stm
Additonal Information:
An earlier technical article from Norway mentioning Spruce Pine’s contribution - February 12, 2008 Norway’s NGU: http://www.ngu.no/no/hm/Georessurser/industrimineraler/Kvarts-og-kvartsitt/Hoy-ren-kvarts/
August 7, 2009 http://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/2009/08/sand-to-chips---whats-the-real-story.html
A Special Report on ABC News, Channel 13 in Asheville, NC - November 2, 2009 “Silicon Valley Secrets” : http://www.wlos.com/shared/newsroom/special_reports/wlos_vid_174.shtml
Book by local Celo author Lowell Presnell, who was highlighted in the ABC News, Channel 13 Special Report. His book, Mines, Miners and Minerals (published by Parkway Publishers in Boone, NC) may be ordered from: http://www.amazon.com/Mines-Miners-Minerals-Carolinas-Mountain/dp/1566641357
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)