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Lifestyle UNION
‘The Color Purple,’ 27 years later.
Cupcakes – small size, big trend.
Melt-in-your-mouth strawberries!
Sci-fi author tops lists at Amazon.
May 2012 t www.UnionLifestyle.com
Onlinewww.UnionLifestyle.com
MailUnionLifestyle
PO Box 1064
Monroe, NC 28111-1064
Phone(704) 753-9288
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16th Annual
Hospice of Union County
Golf Tournament
Presenting Sponsor - Griffin Motor Company
May 21, 201211 a.m.
Providence Country Club
Each player receives 18 holes of golf, golf cart rental, range balls, lunch,
beverages, prizes and dinner at awards reception.
Sponsorships Available
Previous golf tournaments have raised more than $15 million.
For more information on the
tournament or to register,
call (704) 292-2130.
Hospice of Union County
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 3
ContentsUnion Lifestyle t May 2012
6Little cakes are a big
hit for snacks, and
weddings.
8Uber-couponer
saves thousands
of dollars.
10Bibi creates
beautiful tastes in
Monroe.
12Nothing says spring
like strawberries
from the patch.
14Local man will
never forget
“slapping” Oprah.
18126-year-old beauty
takes starring role.
20Master Gardeners
give tips for a
green thumb.
24Restoring an historic
house not a
money pit.
26Local sci-fi author hits
Amazon ratings
repeatedly.
28A mother looks
back at life with
her daughter.
3015 entertaining and
fun things to do.
16June
LifestyleUNION
May 2012
Vol. 1, No. 4
Editor
Nancy E. Stephen
Contributing Writers
Deb Coates Bledsoe
Luanne Williams
Photographers
Deb Coates Bledsoe
Nancy E. Stephen
Union Lifestyle
A publication of
Cameo Communications, LLC
PO Box 1064
Monroe, NC 28111-1064
(704) 753- 9288
www.UnionLifestyle.com
www.facebook.com/
UnionLifestyle
4 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
I like to think that I’m reasonably
intelligent and somewhat organized.
Friends laugh at me when I reveal my
computerized list of paper products
for the kitchen. They think the list is
ridiculous and I’m obsessive; I think I’m
practical.
How else would I remember the
multiple packages of horn of plenty-
themed products as a result of the big
Thanksgiving party that didn’t happen?
Or the nine varieties of spring napkins
and plates just waiting for a ladies’
lawn party?
I can’t help myself; I like lists so that I
don’t have to remember semi-useless,
non-time critical things (such as the 55
counties of West Virginia in
alphabetical order that I learned in the
fifth grade and that still take up space
on my mental hard drive.) Who needs
to know about Thanksgiving products
in May?
My list-making predilection is handy
for computer information.
Back in the day when Al Gore created
the Internet (!), sites required a login
name and password. That was easy; I
used the same one for everything –
Nancy and Stephen. Not so creative,
but I could remember them.
But then hacking became a business
and that combination only worked for
some sites. Others wanted numbers,
too. That was relatively easy; I just
added a “1” behind the password.
Until that no longer worked. Soon we
needed more than one number and
the login needed eight characters.
Since Nancy1 is not eight characters, I
added more numbers – at the
beginning, end and in the middle,
whatever each site requested.
At this point, it was more than a little
complicated, and my collection of
favorite sites had developed
significantly. I had no idea which login
and password went with which site. So
I started my computerized list of sites,
logins and passwords. It’s now an
alphabetized spreadsheet with more
than 150 listings, updated regularly.
The variety is quite amazing; the
number of twists I put on my name is
a tribute to my creativity and slap to
my intelligence. What was I drinking
the day I thought the German spelling
of my last name was a good idea?
And yes, while the list is on my
computer system, allegedly hidden
under a name that hackers would
never suspect and I often forget, it’s
also on paper, hidden in a place that
seems to move around on its own.
It now appears that another list should
be created – of “secret questions”
designed to let me access a site when
I’m away from my desk and forget the
password. A recent debacle with a site
and the questions I answered more
than 15 years ago made me question
my sanity. I didn’t know the answers.
First question: What school did you
attend?
Are we talking high school, college or
grad school? With the three strikes
and you’re out mechanism embedded
on the site, I was out after three
attempts. I only went to four schools;
what was the answer?
Second question: What was your
Editor’s Letter
Editor@UnionLifestyle.com
dream job as a child?
Really? My dream job changed with
the seasons – ballerina, caterer, music
therapist, rock band groupie, Tom
Selleck’s wife – and the list goes on.
No idea what the answer was; I
couldn’t even guess.
Because time was critical, I steeled
myself and picked up the phone,
hoping for a quick resolution. Not
likely.
After 90 minutes trying to reach a real
person – hit 1 for billing, 2 for the
director of underwater basket
weaving, 3 through 9 for other
obscure departments – I started
smacking the 0 button repeatedly,
shouting a few words that Mother
would not approve.
“Our next available customer service
representative will be with you in
(pregnant pause) approximately 17
minutes.” Seriously?
Eventually, a very nice customer
service person answered the phone
and could see those secret answers. I
listed all four schools, none of which
was right. But I was on the right track,
she said.
Was there another name I might have
called one school? Oh yeah, I knew
the answer; it was a cheesy nickname.
Back then, I evidently was so panicked
that someone might learn my
password and abscond with all my
vital information that I chose a very
obscure answer, “knowing” that I’d
never forget it. And, of course, I did.
Apparently, I need to choose only
those questions with a non-subjective
answer, such as my mother’s maiden
name or my hometown. Or make
another list.
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 5
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which Sarah Jessica Parker bit into a pink-frosted cupcake
outside Magnolia Bakery in New York City.
Whatever the impetus, cupcakes have sweetened the dessert
menus in many restaurants and created a niche industry of
their own.
Union County has a bakery dedicated to the miniature
confection. Yvette Stevenson, owner of Gimme A Cupcake in
Monroe, bakes thousands of cupcakes each week with a menu
that changes daily and boasts such unusual flavors as Maple-
n-Bacon, a breakfast cupcake with maple syrup baked into a
yellow cake with maple butter cream and turkey bacon
sprinkled on top. Not your traditional cupcake!
“The great thing about cupcakes is that there’s such a
variety,” she says enthusiastically. “People like the fact that
they don’t have to eat a whole cake, so it’s portion control.
It’s fun, it’s crazy; everyone loves it. “
Nancy Boru of Dolce Paradiso Bakery in Indian Trail agrees.
“I think cupcakes are popular because they’re individual.
People can have a variety of cupcakes and not feel guilty.
And they don’t have to share,” she said, laughing. “I think it
has to do with not sharing.
By Nancy E. Stephen
They’re not just little cakes. And they’re
certainly not just for children’s birthday parties.
Cupcakes have shot up in perceived sophistication since the
original Hostess cupcake burst onto the snack food scene in
1919. (The signature seven squiggles of white icing and
vanilla-crème filling were added in 1950, pushing the treat
into the best selling snack cake in history.)
Oh no, cupcakes these days range from sophisticated wedding
cakes to themed cake parties for children and adults alike.
And the flavors soared past chocolate and vanilla years ago.
Icing – now that’s yet another story of complicated flavors
and design.
What started the current cupcake phenomenon is not certain.
Some date the craze to a 2000 “Sex and the City” episode in
Little cakes are a giant hit
6 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
Yvette Stevenson of Gimme A Cupcake in Monroe makes more than 35 varieties of cupcakes each week.
“We can do much more with
cupcakes, with individualized
details. They’ve become a very
popular item for wedding
receptions, even sophisticated
ones,” she said.
Gimme A Cupcake also caters to
special diets. Wednesday through
Saturday, the bakery offers 90-
calorie cupcakes. She also bakes gluten free and diabetic
cakes by request.
Because she specializes in cupcakes, Yvette makes thousands
of the trendy treats every week. But every week is different.
“One week, we may do more than 1,500 cupcakes, another
week we may do 800.” And that’s not counting the wedding
cakes and cupcakes and special event cupcakes, typically for
the weekend.
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 7
“You can get a variety of cupcakes
and have a variety of tastes instead
of a big cake that’s the
same,” she added. Although
a full bakery, Dolce
typically has at least seven
varieties of cupcakes in the
case.
The bakery’s most popular cake
is red velvet with cream cheese icing
– “people love red velvet” – but Nancy stirs up other
varieties, such as spice cupcakes with maple frosting or Coca
Cola cupcakes.
Yvette says a baker can do a lot with cupcakes, “they’re
anything but boring. With cupcakes, the sky’s the limit. You
can make different flavors, different designs.” She makes 35
flavors each week, with at least seven flavors each day.
Sarah French of Blu Heaven Cakes, a custom bakery in
Monroe, bakes cupcakes for many weddings and believes that
up to 40 percent of local weddings feature the miniature
cakes.
Gimme A Cupcake
1736-E Dickerson Blvd., Monroe
(704) 635-8737
Tues. - Thurs.
10:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Friday
10:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Blu Heaven Cakes
Cakes by special order
(704) 242-0753
Dolce Paradiso Bakery
4409 Old Monroe Rd.
Indian Trail
(704) 557-0438
Mon. - Fri.
8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sat.
8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
www.MonroeAquaticsAndFitnessCenter.com 704-282-4680
2325 Hanover Dr.in Monroe
Waterpark Opens
Friday, May 25th!
Across from Lowe’s,just off U.S. 74.
Fitness and fun for the whole family!Call for joining fee specials!
8 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
“One
lady at Walmart
says she likes coming to work
on the days she knows I'm coming just
to see how much I can save”
A mother of three, Diane got serious
about using coupons when her husband,
a sergeant in the U.S. Army National
Guard, was deployed overseas, and she
needed to reduce her grocery budget.
“I just started doing YouTube searches
on how to coupon and clipping coupons
out of the Sunday paper,” she said. “My
mom used to do it, so I knew that you
could save a lot doing it.”
Last year, Diane saved approximately
$2,400 costs using coupons.
Diane now spends about an hour each
Sunday clipping and sorting coupons
and seven to 10 hours a week shopping.
“But hey, what girl doesn't like to
shop?” she says.
By Luanne Williams
Shoppers in the
checkout line behind Diane Wright may
wince when they see her whip out her
coupons. But more than once, the
Monroe woman has seen a pained
expression turn to awe when the person
realizes how much she's saved.
“I've spent $177 at Bi-Lo and paid less
than $20 at the sub-total,” Diane said,
giving one example of her couponing
prowess. She even has store employees
who cheer her on.
Shopping hours
are broken up as
she heads out
to a different
store every
day —
Harris
Teeter, Bi-
Lo, Kmart,
Food Lion,
etc. — to
make the
most of
special deals at
each. She lives
within two miles of
the supermarkets and
Target, so the frequent
trips are cost-effective.
“A lot of stores have daily deals
that they don't advertise,” she
explained. One secret is matching those
daily deals to a coupon, which works
especially well if the coupon is
doubled.
For example, Harris Teeter recently put
French's mustard on sale for 59 cents,
which made it free when the store
doubled her 30-cent coupon. During
the store’s Super Double Coupon week,
manufacturer's coupons up to $1.98
face value are doubled.
“By the end of the seven-day (Super
Double) run, I had 21 gallon cartons of
milk, 42 smart balance tubs of butter,
21 toothpastes, 21 pounds of bacon, 21
bags of potato chips, 21 carpet fresh
and 21 body lotions – all for around
$30,” Diane said.
Because she never knows what a store
will discount, she keeps her coupon
binder in the car except when she's
loading it, filing coupons in product
categories to save time and effort.
Uber-couponer $ave$ thou$and$
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 9
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“Organizing is what makes most people
not even try, but this is the most
important thing to couponing
successfully,” Diane advised. “It takes
longer to get started. Then, as each
week passes, you will see you are
getting faster because you are organized
the right way.”
Diane said it took about a year to get
proficient at couponing. Now her
system works so well that she and a
friend, Amanda Vaughn, started a
business to share their knowledge. The
goal of The $avings Champs is to teach
others how to shop “wiser, smarter and
save money in the process, by cutting
their weekly grocery bill in half by
means of coupons.”
They've held classes at South Piedmont
Community College, Monroe Aquatics
and Fitness Center and other area
locations as well as private parties.
They also work with Girl Scouts to help
them earn Savvy Shopper badges.
In addition to classes, they offer in-
home coupon parties and in-store field
trips, plus discount classes for those
receiving government assistance.
Most questions revolve around coupon
policies, which shoppers need to know.
“Sometimes you get a cashier who
doesn't know about the policy and you
have to explain and ask to speak with
someone familiar with it,” she said,
adding that successful coupon users
must be willing to assert themselves.
She said the key is to “smile and stay
polite.”
For information on couponing classes,
go to www.TheSavingsChamps.org.
Luanne Williams is a former
newspaper editor and a freelance
writer.
Five quick coupon tips
1 Get organized. The best coupon in the world won't benefit you if it's
lying in a heap on your kitchen counter. Find a system that works for you
- a binder or file organized by product category or expiration date.
2 Forget brand loyalty. Your concern is the bottom line, not being a
loyal customer to a certain manufacturer.
3 Match your coupons to an item already on sale as much as possible.
Don't overlook unadvertised daily deals as well as opportunities to
double or triple your coupons.
4 Buy in bulk if you have storage space. Better yet, share with others
when you get an especially sweet deal.
5 Familiarize yourself with the store's coupon policies to avoid
surprises at the checkout.
Uber-couponer $ave$ thou$and$
10 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
S ometimes good
food has to be sought out; it’s not on
the main highway through town and
your initial impression of the location
might be slightly disconcerting.
But get over
that, folks!
Bibi, a
beautiful
taste, is
located in
front of the
Monroe
Police
Department,
but the
location
makes absolutely no difference. Think
of it this way – you couldn’t be safer!
Realistically, diners – whether they’re
eating indoors or outdoors on the stone
patio – are just aware of the delicious
food.
We think this is one of the best times of
the year to enjoy Bibi because of the
outdoor seating.
Chef-owner Jahson Oshita has created
an eclectic menu that satisfies those
seeking more than steaks and grilled
chicken, but is mainstream enough for
a crowd of adventurous eaters, meat
and potato eaters, vegetarians and
picky children to enjoy.
We’ve enjoyed everything from lunch
salads to hot sandwiches to “stuff in
bowls” – their term, not ours. And all
has been very tasty.
A recent lunch of blackened fish on
but they order it every time they visit.
We can’t stop eating the seared tuna,
whether it’s a “happitizer” with pickled
ginger and preserved lemon wasabi that
is the hottest we’ve ever happily cried
through ($8.75) or an eight-ounce tuna
steak with cranberry-apple chutney,
served with steamed rice and seasonal
vegetables ($17.50). We recommend
the house-made hot tea that combines
ginger, cinnamon and cayenne. The red
pepper is a nice touch.
The menu plays with unusual pairings,
such as bacon and collard dip ($5.75),
crispy corn cakes with Serrano chilies
and roasted red pepper crema ($4.50)
and fried tofu with sweet chili dipping
sauce ($4.25). These appetizers are a
great way to sample some new tastes.
Oshita, who describes himself as half
Japanese and half Alabaman, is happy
to put his own twist on traditional foods
but is thrilled to plate some very
unusual dishes for adventuresome
eaters to try, such as ochazuke, which is
Bibi creates ‘a beautiful taste’ in Downtown Monroeopen-faced ciabatta was delicious.
Served with a Cajun tartar sauce, the
fish was cooked perfectly and the
seasoning had enough kick to enjoy but
not be heavy-handed. Although we ate
only a small portion of the bread, it was
scrumptious, too. Our diet almost bit
the dust! The sandwich is served with a
side of your choice for $7.95.
We chose beans and rice, knowing that
the portion
would be
more than we
needed,
having had
the “stuff in
bowls”
portion
previously.
Another diner
chose the
seasonal fruit,
which was
fresh and juicy. That portion could have
been larger, though.
The warm, roasted root vegetable salad
is another of our favorites. It’s a
wonderful blending of rutabaga,
turnips, sweet potatoes, carrots and
parsnips with sautéed cabbage and
lightly topped with spiced
walnuts and goat cheese.
Even Dr. Oz would approve of
this salad! For $8.50, you have
more than your day’s servings
of vegetables.
Other diners enjoyed the fish
taco, served with tasty jalapeno
coleslaw and corn tortillas for
$7.95 and the Bibi spinach
salad for $8.50. Friends rave
over Mamma’s Cornbread
Salad, which we haven’t tried, Fish taco with jalapeno slaw
Restaurant
Review
Blackened fish sandwich
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 11
Bibi creates ‘a beautiful taste’ in Downtown Monroe
Bibi spinach salad
How we award stars
AMBIANCE - Based not only on the décor, but the quality of restrooms,
noise buffers, etc.
MENUS - Rated for depth of items, as well as variety and ability to meet
the needs of all diners.
QUALITY - Based on taste, portion size, creativity, flexibility to meet
individual dietary preferences.
SERVICE - Rates the wait staff on attentiveness and the kitchen on speed
and cooperation, etc.
VALUE - Balances the quality of food with the cost.
OVERALL - Average rating by diners in all categories; five stars is the top.
steamed rice with kimchi, umebushi,
oshinko and bonita flakes and served
with green tea (poured over top) – a
dish not on many Southern menus.
The menu features daily specials,
recently including tomato orange
coriander soup, a shrimp and stuffed
strawberry appetizer, plus peppered
strawberries with vanilla ice cream.
Bibi has a small beer and wine menu.
2324 E. Franklin St., Monroe
(704) 288-1766
Mon-Sat 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Ambiance - If you sit on the patio,
you’ll experience good food in a
great setting. Inside, it’s relaxed and
casual, and there’s a side room for
special functions. (4.25)
Menu - It’s not the largest menu, but
we’re thrilled to see multiple side
dishes of healthy choices. The daily
creative specials should be tried.
(4.25)
Quality - Fresh ingredients,
delicious preparations. Presentation
is pleasing as well. (4.25)
Service - This is the one area the
restaurant should improve. We
question the wait staff’s attire;
maybe that shouldn’t matter, but it
does. Our mothers (or grandmothers)
would call it inappropriate; actually,
so would we. A restaurant this good
should not be hampered by this
visual distraction. (3)
Value- Prices are reasonable and a
good value especially considering
the generous servings. (4.25)
Overall – 4 stars
Yum, yum!You can’t beat local strawberries
times, plus individual farm requirements
regarding containers, etc.
Creekside Farms
3424 Lanes Creek Rd., Marshville. (704) 624-
5476 or (704) 624-2631.
The Hunter Farm
13624 Providence Rd, Weddington. (704) 846-
7975 or (704) 846-3277. Also has berries at a
roadside stand at Hemby and Providence roads.
M&M Farms
7118 Alexander Farm Rd., Monroe. (704) 574-
9200. Pre-picked berries also available.
Piedmont Produce
9601 Morgan Mill Rd., Monroe. (704) 753-2300
or (704) 753-4614. Also has picked berries at
Piedmont Produce General Store located at the
Highway 218/Morgan Mill Road intersection.
And if you don’t want to pick strawberries
yourself, visit these sites and other roadside
stands.
Cook Farms
3020 Plyler Mill Rd., Monroe. (704) 634-3936 or
(704) 634 - 3937.
Union County Farmers’ Market
802 Skyway Drive, Monroe. (704) 283-3625
Waxhaw Farmer’s Market
Corner of Price and Church streets in downtown
Waxhaw. Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
By Nancy E. Stephen
Nothing says spring in the
South like biting into a large, juicy strawberry
that’s just been plucked – still warm – from a
sun-warmed field. It’s instant gratification.
Watch a toddler pop a whole strawberry into his
mouth and wait for the inevitable beginning of
juice dribbling out, down his chin and onto his
formerly clean shirt.
Did we say toddler? Heck, watch anyone eat a
fresh-from-the-earth strawberry and wait for the
strawberry stained lips to curl in a smile of
satisfaction. It’s the strawberry miracle; you
can’t help smiling.
This year, strawberry plants burst into bloom
and fruit early, courtesy of a warmer than
normal winter. And although growers suffered a
bit of angst in mid-April as a frost threatened to
damage area fields, most were well prepared to
protect their many acres of yum.
Several county farms have you-pick-it programs
for strawberries, which can save you a couple
of dollars per bucket, but the real benefit is in
the fresher-than-fresh taste.
We recommend calling before you go to ensure
that strawberries are available and picking
Yum, yum!You can’t beat local strawberries
Alicia’s Favorite
Summer Side Salad
This is one of our favorite strawberry
recipes. It’s not a typical pie or dessert
(and we enjoy them too), but it’s a good
change of pace.
The tang of feta cheese contrasts nicely
with fresh strawberries, and sliced
almonds add a delightful crunch. And
the salad takes just minutes to make. If
you’re in a hurry, bottled poppy seed
dressings are available in stores.
Our apologies to Alicia for not giving her
full credit, but this recipe has been
passed for years through several
families and no one knows who Alicia is.
Salad PreparationCombine greens, strawberries, feta cheese, almonds and about
1/4 cup dressing in a medium bowl, refrigerating extra dressing.
Toss together lightly. Divide into individual salad bowls or serve
from a contrasting bowl; we used a wooden bread bowl. (We
serve the dressing separate to allow individual portioning.)
Dressing PreparationIn a blender or food processor, combine honey, vinegar, salt, dry
mustard and onion powder. With the motor running, drizzle in the
oil. Add the poppy seeds and pulse to mix gently.
Refrigerate up to three weeks. Shake or stir briskly before
serving.
Per serving
160 calories, 14g carbohydrate, 4g protein, 11g fat (59% of
calories), 8mg cholesterol, 3g fiber, 179mg sodium.
Salad
5 cups washed baby field greens
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup sliced (not slivered) almonds
Poppy Seed Dressing
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
14 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
By Nancy E Stephen
No ot everyone can slap Oprah Winfrey
and get away with it, but Phil Strong of Monroe did just that
– in the 1985 movie “The Color Purple.”
“It was through (producer Steven) Spielberg’s magic,” he
quickly explains.
“Purple,” which was filmed primarily in Marshville and
neighboring Anson County, was the screen version of Alice
Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the 35-year
liberation of Celie Johnson, a black woman oppressed by her
father and husband in rural Georgia.
Phil, then 52 and recently retired from the Highway Patrol,
played a small Southern town mayor who is offended when
Oprah’s character says “Hell, no” to his screen wife when she
asks Oprah, “Would you like to work for me, be my maid?”
Phil “with his chest all pushed out, walks up to Sofia,”
according to the script.
“Girl, what you say to Miss Millie?”
“Hell, no.”
Former highway
patrolman ‘slaps’
Oprah Winfrey –
and lives to tell
about it
A surreptitiously shot photograph by Marshville Photographer Bruce Curlee shows
Phil Strong just seconds after he “slapped” Oprah Winfrey.
The momentous scene that follows is detailed in the script by
a brief notation: “The mayor slaps Sofia.” The scene took
many hours to film before they got it exactly right and from
every imaginable angle.
Phil screen-slapped Oprah by slapping in front of her face as
she jerked her head in response. The sound effects were
inserted later.
Oprah’s character retaliated and threw a wicked right at the
mayor’s chin, but that, too, is cinematic magic. An old truck
drove in front of the characters just as Oprah drew back her
fist. When the truck had passed, Phil was on the ground in the
dirt.
“They wanted to have a stuntman stand in for me, but I did
my own stunt,” he said. “I guess I spent an hour and a half on
the ground.” He pocketed about $361 per day on the set, with
extra for doing his own fall. He still earns residuals when the
movie is shown – “just a small amount. I don’t get the big
money,” he said chuckling.
The slapping scene “occurred” in winter, with Epson salts
scattered on the ground for snow. In fact, it was a typical
August day in Union County – 90 degrees with humidity. And
Phil was wearing a wool suit with a heavy wool overcoat and
perspiring heavily. Director Spielberg was in shorts.
Phil keeps a scrapbook with press clippings, napkins, daily
production call sheets, all memories of his experience. An
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 15
autograph by Oprah reads: “Phil – My
mayor friend – nice punchin’ with you.”
Spielberg wrote: “To Phil, The best
mayor in Hartwell County!”
“It was amazing, I just had a ball,” he
recalled recently as he flipped through
his scrapbook.
Memories include riding to Wadesboro
with Whoopi Goldberg for his second
day’s shoot; no elaborate limousine for
her. “I enjoyed just being a part of it,
being with them. I had a ball with these
people,” he recalled, calling them all by
a single name – Oprah, Fishburne,
Quincy, Spielberg. “They were a fun
group to be with.
“I had a good time, there’s no doubt
about that.”
Phil gave Spielberg a baseball cap with
the Highway Patrol insignia because the
director wore a cap every day. Although
Spielberg didn’t wear it then, years later
Phil found pictures on the Internet of
Spielberg wearing the cap.
“After my scenes were over, I rode to
Wadesboro one day to see what was
going on and the deputies let me on the site,” he recalled.
Quincy Jones was sitting down the street, away from the
actual filming. “I greeted him, congratulating him on a recent
tribute in a national magazine.”
He recalls adding, “I just wanted to
congratulate you on your honor and to tell
you to enjoy your honor. ’Cause when this
movie comes out, the cream is going to rise
to the top,” he remembers saying, spreading
his arms expansively to indicate exactly who
was the cream, laughing all the while.
Quincy started laughing so loud that
Spielberg had to stop filming, “and I thought
I should get out of there.”
When the movie came out, Phil and his wife
went to a premiere in Charlotte, where “I was
really surprised when they put my name in
the credits.”
Calling his experience unforgettable, he adds,
“How many first-time actors are lucky
enough to be in a movie that was nominated
for 11 Academy Awards?”
Phil Strong treasures a scrapbook with memorabilia from his two days on the set of
“The Color Purple.”
A younger Phil
was surprised to
see his name on
a dressing trailer
(left side) “just
like the real
actors.” The extra
wore a three-
piece wool suit
with a wool
overcoat for the
“slapping” scene,
despite the day’s
90-degree
temperatures.
16 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
By Nancy E Stephen
In April 1984, the town of Marshville came
alive with fright when a freight train carrying chemicals
derailed in the center of town.
Just one year later, the town came alive again, this time with
delight, as movie producer Steven Spielberg brought now-
powerhouse celebrity Oprah Winfrey, then a local talk show
host in Chicago, as well as Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover,
Rae Dawn Chong and Laurence Fishburne for the filming of
“The Color Purple,” Spielberg’s first serious drama. Prior to
“The Color Purple,” he was best known for “E.T.: The Extra-
Terrestrial.”
Spielberg and company wanted absolutely no local publicity
about the filming; in fact, press was banned from the sets.
Even the Los Angeles Times was not successful in
interviewing Spielberg. But several local reporters and
photographers surreptitiously gathered information and a few
images.
“Spielberg and his Moon Song Productions have been . . .
running around small towns and back roads with the kind of
speed that the film’s reported $7 million budget demands,”
according to the “Chicago Tribune” at the time. “The lack of
publicity coming out of this part of the Carolina Piedmont is,
however, pure Spielberg: a combination of paranoia and the
desire for total control over all aspects of the production.”
For several months, main streets of Marshville were
transformed into an early 1900s look, with tons of red clay
and straw dumped on the town’s White Street and water,
power and telephone lines moved underground at movie
company expense. Current-day buildings were turned into
turn-of-the-century stores and a café.
Spielberg’s company spent an estimated $4 million in the area
during seven weeks of filming, which went to area
restaurants, service stations and dry cleaners as well as
building owners, security guards, cooks serving as personal
chefs, truck drivers and technicians.
The Color Purple was a box office success, according to
Wikipedia, staying in U.S. theaters for 21 weeks and grossing
more than $142 million worldwide. In terms of box office
income, it ranked as the #1 rated PG-13 movie in 1985.
Although nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best
Picture, Best Actress for Whoopi and Best Supporting Actress
for Oprah, it won none. Spielberg was not nominated for his
direction.
Keyboards/Pianos
Print Music
Recording
Rental
Sound Systems
Strings
Used Products
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Acoustic Guitars
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Basses
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Electric Guitars
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Holloway’s Music Center1912 - 2012
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Monday-Friday l 9:30 - 6Saturday l 9:30 - 3
1608 Skyway Drive in Monroe
(704) 283-2814www.HollowaysMusic.com
Lessons for guitar, bass, piano, voice, drums, banjo, mandolin, violin
Marshville streets transformed for 1985 film
Barbara Dunn not only was in a scene with Whoopi
Goldberg, “I got to know Whoopi well.” The Dunns owned
the facility where Whoopi took her clothes to be cleaned.
“She came in a couple times a week; she had a little
Volkswagen convertible and wore high top tennis shoes.”
What impressed Barbara about her one day on the set were
the “details for every little thing. I’d never seen how they
make a movie before; I really enjoyed the experience.”
Although extras were instructed not to talk to anyone on the
set or to take photographs, “you couldn’t help looking at
everyone all the time – they were right beside you.”
When the movie came out, “it was really something to see
me there; a lot of people had been cut. I was just a blip,
though.”
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 17
Marion Holloway, owner of
Holloway’s Music Center in
Monroe, recalls his one day
on the set of “The Color
Purple” with affection and
amusement.
“They came into Rotary and
said if you wanted to be an
extra to let them know. And I
have enough ham in me; I
decided yes.” He was among
the dozens of area residents
who were extras in the film.
“I didn’t have a speaking
part – I had a screaming
part,” he recalls, laughing.
“A shouting part.
“I was reading a newspaper
when Phil and Oprah got
into their match, then I ran
up and got right in her face
about her hitting the mayor.
“How could you do this to
our mayor,” he recalls shouting. “ I can’t believe you would
do that.
“Spielberg had encouraged us
to use the vernacular of the day,
and I had already decided that I
was not going to compromise
myself by using profanity.”
Although “standing right beside
Spielberg and watching him do
his directing was quite a feat,”
Marion’s most memorable
recollection is with music
director Quincy Jones.
“Before the film crew came,
the advance crew came into our
store downtown and asked if
we could set up Quincy Jones’
equipment in the condo he was
renting (in Monroe.) Meeting
and working with Quincy Jones
was a highlight to me.”
Jones shipped his own
equipment from California, and
Marion put it together in a
spare bedroom. Marion also furnished drums for a scene, but
just a brief glimpse is shown.
Local ‘ham’ has minor ‘screaming part’
Marion Holloway had a “shouting part” in the movie.
The details. The experience.
A blip on the screen.
We don’t lie down on our jobbut you can!
Mowing and edging
Shrub and hedge pruning
Grass planting and conditioning
Mulch application and maintenance
Irrigation system installation and repair
Landscape installation and lighting
Pond and lake management
Chris Wall landsCaping
31 years experience
(704) 753-4207
18 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
t “Homeland” (2011) showed Downtown Monroe.
t “Of Whom Am I Afraid” (2008) in Monroe along Franklin
Street.
t “April Fool’s Day” (2007) outside the Historic
Courthouse.
t “Negros With Guns” (Robert Williams documentary)
(2006) showed Monroe.
t “Shake, Rattle and Roll” (2003) in Waxhaw.
t “The Secret” (1997) in Monroe
and surrounding area.
t “The Protected Wife” (1996)
showed Monroe.
t “No Recourse” (1996) showed
Monroe.
t “Life Estates” (1996) in Monroe
and Waxhaw.
t “And Then She Was Gone” (1996)
on Main Street in Monroe.
126-year-old beauty stars in many moviesUnion County is home to a movie star featured in at least 10
movies. It’s the 1886 Historic Courthouse in Downtown
Monroe.
The building can be seen in many movies, including the
recent “Blood Done Sign My Name” in 2010 with Ricky
Schroeder and Nate Parker. The courtroom with balcony
hosted a pivotal court scene, below.
An upcoming movie, “Banshee” will be filmed around the
Historic Courthouse later this year for a new Cinemax series.
Other movies filmed in Union County and their locations
include:
t “The Trial” (2010)
used Main Street in
Downtown Monroe
(above) and the
Historic Courthouse.
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 19
126-year-old beauty stars in many movies First-known movie filmed in 1941 in MonroeAlthough “The Color Purple” may have been the first national movie filmed in Union
County, it wasn’t the first movie.
In 1941, a film producer named Melton Barker was hired to film a two-reel comedy
similar to the “Our Gang” comedies, but in Monroe with local talent. Wheeler Smith,
owner and operator of the Center Theatre on Main Street, sponsored the production,
which was called “The Kidnappers Foil.”
Barker continued making local movies from the 1930s to the early 1970s, according
to MeltonBarker.com, with his company Melton Barker Juvenile Productions. The
film was made across the country – from Texas and New Mexico to North Carolina
and Indiana.
According to a story in the July 21, 1941 “Monroe Enquirer,” the intent was “to give
local children an opportunity to see and hear themselves on the screen and compare
themselves with Shirley Temple, Freddy Bartholomew, Spanky McFarland and other
celebrities of the screen.”
Children, or their parents, registered for auditions, which included singing and
dancing talent. But “all types” were needed to fill out the cast, including “tall and
short youngsters” as well as “fatties and leans.” Approximately 56 local children were
in the film.
The quick-turn production was filmed and viewed within one month, quite different
from today’s filming process. No known copy of the film exists.
t “Blessed Assurance” (1995) in Monroe’s Winchester
neighborhood.
t “Bandit Goes Country,” “Bandit’s Silver Angel,” Beauty
and the Bandit” and the creatively-named “Bandit Bandit”short-lived TV series (1994) showed Monroe.
t “Set For Life” (1994) filmed in Weddington, Waxhaw and
then Union Regional Medical Center.
t “Death in Small Doses” (1993) showed the Historic
Courthouse.
t “Scattered Dreams” (1993) filmed in Marshville and the
Historic Courthouse.
t “Death In Small Doses” (1993) showed the Historic
Courthouse.
tA BBC documentary (1991) on the trial of Byran De La
Beckwith, who was charged with the assassination of civilrights leader Medgar Evars, used the Historic Courthouse.
t “The U.S. vs. Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald” (1989) used the
Historic Courthouse.
t “Preacherman” (1971) on Camden Road.
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20 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
Want a GREEN thumb? 10 tips for Union County gardeners
By Luanne Williams
Amild winter
and an early spring have even the
most amateur of gardeners wielding
the spade this year. And soil (or
should we say clay and rocks for
many of us here in the Carolina slate belt) is already being
turned all over Union County.
If you haven't gotten into the act or perhaps feel you may
have fumbled a bit getting out of the gate this year, never fear.
There's still plenty you can do to get growing and lots of
resources to help.
We talked with a number of Master Gardeners with the Union
County Cooperative Extension to compile this list of 10 tips
as a good place to start.
1 Take a test. A pop quiz, already?
Don't worry. It's not you that needs
testing, it's your soil.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture
will test it free of charge. Just pick up
a kit from Cooperative Extension and
follow the instructions. The test will
tell you the acidity of the soil (pH) as
well as levels of several nutrients
necessary for plant growth and
recommendations on lime and fertilizer. Knowing what you're
working with can help you avoid a number of pitfalls. For
details, call (704) 283-3801.
2 Start small. It's already May and though you would surely
love to win Lawn of the Month for June, experienced
gardeners say it's best not to start too big of a project that may
leave you overwhelmed long before harvest or that visit from
the neighborhood prize committee. They recommend focusing
on a manageable size bed and choosing a few of your favorite
plants, whether ornamentals or veggies, to get started. Then
build on that success.
3 Choose wisely. One of the Master Gardener mantras is
very simple — “right plant, right place.” No matter how
lovely that pink flowering dogwood looked at the nursery, it's
probably not going to flourish in the middle of your sun-
soaked front lawn. A little effort on the front-end — finding
out what a specific plant needs in the way of soil, sun, shade
or moisture — can save a lot of hard work and heartache.
4 Get in synch. Most seasoned gardeners add “right time”
to the “right plant, right place” recommendation. Just because
a particular plant is in the seed catalog or covers a quarter acre
at the home improvement store this weekend doesn't mean it's
necessarily the best time to put it in the ground. In fact, many
fruit trees and perennials fare better with a fall start.
And local experts say if you are looking for that lush green
lawn and have a cool season grass, late summer to early fall is
the time to plant. Not now in the throes of spring.
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9-5 Monday to Saturday
Everything you need for your lawn and gardens.
Flowering plantsVegetable plants Hanging basketsSoils and mulchesGrass seedFertilizerShrubs and treesGardening accessories
Blooming plantsmake great
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7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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2317 E. Lawyers Rd.
Monroe, NC 28110
(704) 283-5696
www.LathamsNursery.com
Warm season grasses can be planted by sprigs or plugs, but
they'll need consistent watering this summer.
5 Go native. Although you may not be native to the Tar
Heel state, lots of plants are (more than 5,700 species, in
fact). Using native plants as often as possible is not only
beneficial to the local wildlife (bees, birds, you name it), but
because they are more suited to the environment, the plants
tend to thrive better and are all-around less needy.
6 Think outside the bag, bale or bottle. Mulching not only
looks nice but it helps retain soil moisture and temperature
while discouraging pesky weeds. But mulching doesn’t have
to involve a bale of pine straw or a bag of pine bark. Grass
clippings, leaves and shredded yard waste can all play a role.
And before you grab chemical pesticide, consider more
natural alternatives like attracting beneficial insects to do the
job for you. Pest control starts with strong, healthy plants and
can include non-toxic, homemade remedies as well.
7 Consider composting. You don't have to have a
complicated contraption to get healthy compost. A simple
wire pen is a good start. Recycling yard waste can save you
money by becoming a soil nutrient additive. Capturing rain
water from your roof is another good garden recycling tip.
8 Keep it contained. Even the smallest of lawns or a tiny
patio can become a successful vegetable or flower garden
with the help of a few containers as long as they drain
adequately. Choose varieties that are suited for small spaces
and make sure you give climbing vines somewhere to go.
Raised beds are another good option.
9 Plant something for your plate. Even if ornamentals are
your thing, consider introducing something edible. Perhaps a
pot of Swiss chard on the patio, a cherry tomato in a hanging
basket or a patch of attractive herbs that can punch up your
garden and your gumbo.
10 Don't go it alone. Whether you're just starting out
and don't have a clue what to cultivate or have gardened for
decades but find yourself baffled by a blight or bug, help is
available. The Master Gardeners operate a Grow-Line
number, (704) 283-3822, and e-mail address,
www.unionmg@co.union.nc.us, for you to call or write with
your questions in addition to a host of other resources. You
can also catch up with them on Facebook or on the group's
website at MasterGardenersUnionCountync.org.
Most importantly, when it comes to gardening, enjoy
yourself. If you like what you're creating, you are more likely
to spend time there, and therefore more likely to spot a small
problem early and solve it before it becomes a big disaster.
Luanne Williams is a former newspaper editor and a
freelance writer.
22 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
Anyone can grow food for their
table, add beauty to lawn
Not everyone can have a lush lawn and a prolific vegetable
garden, but anyone can grow something for the table and add
some beauty to their landscape with a little bit of forethought.
That's the theory of Roger Littell, who says even seasoned
gardeners like himself sometimes spend too much money on
plants that look great at the nursery, but may not be suited to
conditions in the backyard.
“The big thing is to be realistic. Don't expect a plant that
needs six to eight hours of full sun a day to grow in a place
where it only gets one to two,” said the president of the Union
County Master Gardeners.
And if it's a cool season grass like Fescue that you've planted
in your lawn, don't be surprised when it goes dormant in the
heat of summer, he added.
“Typically the grass that people plant where they have limited
sun is a cool season grass which does best in spring and fall,”
he said. “In the summer, it's going to look awful. I don't care
how much you water it, it's going to go dormant.”
He said homeowners often mow the grass too closely and
seed at the wrong time. Fall is the time to plant cool season
grasses, not late spring when the weather is already heating
up. An alternative for a full sun lawn would be a summer
grass, Littell said, but cautioned that it would need to be
sodded or plugged.
Rather than worrying over the grass this spring and summer,
he suggests homeowners put their efforts into getting their
soil tested so they know exactly how much lime or fertilizer
they need and don't waste money buying what they don't.
Then, in September or October, they can plant a cool season
grass and expect a better outcome.
Meanwhile, Littell would rather see gardeners planting
something they can enjoy in their salad or skillet. And he said
they don't have to have a lot of land to do so.
“I have a huge pot of Swiss chard that I planted in the fall
which came back in the spring. I've got arugula, spinach and
none of it is in the ground,” he said.
Also in Littell's 25 to 30 containers are a variety of culinary
herbs in addition to ornamentals that he uses to add beauty to
the landscape of his western Union County home.
Old-fashioned plants making a
comeback in area gardens
With some seven acres of flowering shrubs, Beda Trenning-
Helms can look out any window of her Olive Branch home
and see beauty blooming.
A 15-year veteran of the Union County Master Gardener
program, she likes a lot of mixture in her flower beds and
loves seeing some old-fashioned plants making a comeback.
“When I put in plants, I don’t like to put them just in one little
spot, but in different locations around the house, a lot of
mixtures of color. Then when one plant starts to decline, other
blooms are coming on so you never have a dead garden spot,”
she said, admitting that “it takes a lot of trial and error.”
Among her favorite plants are day lilies and poppies, irises,
bachelor’s button and forsythia. She’s glad to see bridal
wreath spirea gaining in popularity after having “fallen on
hard times” and is also seeing the snowball bush variety of
the hydrangea family coming back into vogue.
“Some of these very old-fashioned plants are now making
inroads and returning,” said Beda, who has long enjoyed
flowering quince, which is also getting attention these days.
When new gardeners ask her for advice, she suggests they
first take a look at friends’ or neighbors’ gardens to discover
what grows well in their area and determine what they like.
Then find out when is the best time to plant the particular
flowers they are interested in planting.
“I would say start with a small area, go with your favorite
color and stick to native plants,” she said, adding that
planting something with white blooms makes the colors stand
out even more. She suggests mulching with last fall’s leaves
and taking care not to plant so much or such high-
maintenance plants that you find yourself “holding the hose”
all summer. “Remember summer does come, and watering is
a challenge.”
Know your ground before you
start putting plants in soil
Master Gardener Sonia McElveen grew up in South Carolina
and started driving a tractor as soon as she got big enough to
press the pedal. “For as long as I can remember, I've been
doing something in the
garden or in the field,”
said the Radiator
Specialty chemist.
This year, much of her
toiling has been at the
Teaching Garden at
Union County Ag
Center, where she
enjoys the camaraderie
and learning something
new every time she
goes.
“Being a Master Gardener doesn't mean
you know it all. It means you are willing
to learn new ways of doing things.
That's the fun part of the experience.”
Sonia said since many Union County
residents are transplants, it’s important
to realize the way they gardened
previously won't work here. “The soil is
different and the types of plants that do
well here can be a lot different from the
ones they might be used to," she said.
While she laughed that her chemistry
background makes her an unwitting
target for questions about insecticides,
she said gardening is a science. “You're
evaluating, picking out variables, what
could go right, what could go wrong.
You have to be able to determine
diseases, environmental reasons; it's
always problem solving."
For her own lawn, she's planning to go
native as much as possible to create a
welcoming habitat for bees and other
wildlife and would eliminate every sprig
of grass, given a choice.
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 23
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CITY
OF
MONROEa heritage of progress
Success is when the right insects
eat your plants
How do you know when you're a successful gardener? When
your plants are getting eaten by the right insects!
At least that's the thought of Annie Howell who turns the soil
in her lawn, already a certified wildlife habitat, between
Wesley Chapel and Mineral Springs.
An avid Master Gardener with a bent toward butterflies,
Annie was thrilled when Viceroy caterpillars chewed the
leaves off a pussy willow the year she planted it. Now she's
busy creating a monarch way station so the fancy fliers have a
place to rest and raise a brood between Canada and Mexico.
“Monarchs need milkweed, and it's disappearing,” she said,
explaining that it's just one of several plants that she's putting
in to benefit the bugs.
Annie spends most of her time, as much as eight hours some
days, transforming the lawn that began with the typical 20 or
so builder-supplied shrubs into a bloom-filled butterfly haven.
“I started five years ago and it is still a work in progress. I
don’t think you can ever say that a gardener is done.”
24 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
By Deb Coates Bledsoe
iThere were those who told Don Hinkle he
might want to rethink buying the 139-year-old historic
property known as the John Herron Williams home on Old
Monroe-Marshville Road.
“I think people have trouble seeing behind the vines,” Don
said. “You have to look past that and you have to look past a
little sweat equity.”
Don and his wife, Laura, felt that the purchase of the home,
which according to the deed was built in 1873 although the
historic plaque reads 1880, was making an investment into
preserving history.
“We were looking for a piece of property to buy and we love
historic homes,” Don said. “We were also looking for
property with land where the kids could play and we could
grow a garden.” Standing on the front porch of the Williams
home, looking out over the land, made the decision easy.
“It’s so rich in history,” he said. “It’s still a very rural
community, mostly agriculture. The Williams family still
farms the land. I think it’s neat; it’s still a connection with the
family.”
Don said it’s not difficult to go back in time and imagine
what the home’s front yard looked like 100 years ago. “After
a long day in the field, they would come out on the porch.
That was their entertainment. They would sit on the porch
and visit with one another.”
So the Hinkles followed their hearts and purchased the home
and 30 acres in 1997 for around $88,000. He remembers the
purchasing process wasn’t easy.
“They gave the house zero value,” Don said. “It was
overgrown. It was historic. It needed paint and a roof. They
didn’t think anyone could live in it. It was a challenge
purchasing the place, as there are no comps for the house,
nothing to compare it to.”
But none of this alarmed Don. When he walked through the
Restoring an historic home not necessarily a money pit house, he saw nothing that swayed him from the purchase. “I
didn’t see anything with the house that wasn’t just paint or a
new roof. It just needed tender loving care. It had obviously
been neglected, but when I crawled under the house, I
couldn’t see any structural damage.”
The most pressing piece of business, however, was moving a
hive of bees that engulfed the entire side of the home. “The
bees had built honeycombs that went up to the second story
window,” he said.
A building inspector said the house was in really good shape,
and a termite inspection also had a positive outcome. “We
were pleasantly surprised that the only thing we found were
the bees,” Don said.
The home had only one toilet and a sink located behind a
curtain in one room. There was also a sink in the kitchen, but
the home had only cold-running water. The challenge was to
update the home without destroying to its heritage.
“You see the way the home was intended to be. I didn’t want
to change that. I wanted to hold the integrity of the house.
You have to give up some things like updating the kitchen.
We had to modernize it some, but we tried to put some
vintage pieces like a claw foot tub in the bathroom to
maintain some historical reverence.”
To keep down cost, Don, an IT project manager, has done
most of the work. “It keeps it affordable. It helps that I grew
up on a farm. You learn to do a lot of things yourself.”
The first priority was a new roof. “Once I got the roof done, I
knew I could take my time because I wasn’t going to lose the
structure due to water damage.”
Don then sanded the floors down to the original wood and
ripped up all the linoleum. He turned a room off the master
bedroom into a spacious bathroom, with a hint of vintage
décor, but the convenience of modern times.
He’s placed new copper piping throughout the house and
brought the electrical up to code. The house’s foundation sits
on large quartz rocks, so Don added cement blocks at various
locations under the house to “help stop the bounce as you
walk on the floor.”
In the 15 years since he purchased the home, Don estimates
that he’s only spent around $10,000. “You think of what a
money pit an old property can be, but we really haven’t spent
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 25
Restoring an historic home not necessarily a money pit that much money. We’ve done most of the work ourselves,
so I’m not paying contractor labor. It’s mostly materials.
“Now the challenge is to keep up the ongoing maintenance
of painting and refinishing the floors.”
He plan to continue restoring the home. “It’s sort of a time
capsule,” Don said. “This is a piece of Union County
history. I just want to preserve it. It’s an antique, a piece of
history and if you go changing it, you lose that story, you
lose a piece of it.
“It’s important, whether it’s my kids or just the people who
come to visit, that they see the way it used to be. Someone
intended the home to be like this and I don’t want to go
change his dreams. I think how hard it was to build this
home. There’s a lot of craftsmanship here. I don’t want to
take away from that.”
Deb Coates Bledsoe, a former newspaper editor, is a
freelance writer and photographer.
Don Hinkle purchased the John Herron Williams home 15 years ago
and has spent approximately $10,000 restoring the house, saving
money by doing all of the work himself.
John Herron Williams was 22 years old when he moved
his 20-year-old bride, Cora Alice (Bivens) Williams, to
the small 1,200 square-foot home on Old Monroe-
Marshville Road. The year was 1878.
The one-story home sat on 120 acres of land that had
been his father’s. Two years later, John enlarged the
home with the construction of a gabled ell that housed
the kitchen and dining room. Fifteen years and 11
children later, John and Cora enlarged the house again,
making it about 2,000 square feet. In 1895, a second
level was added to the original portion of the home.
The home rested on brick and fieldstone piers and
featured a bungalow style porch, constructed in 1925,
that ran across the front.
Behind the home sat several outbuildings including a
smokehouse, well house, carriage house, cotton house,
wagon and buggy shelter and storage shed, plus two
large barns used in the family’s farming business.
Six of their daughters were married in the house, each
coming down the stairway and into the parlor where the
ceremonies were performed.
Williams died in 1936, and his widow continued to live
in the home until her own death in 1956 at the age of
98. One child, Martha Cornelia “Connie” Williams,
remained in the home until her death in the early 1990s.
Information from the Union County Heritage Room.
By Nancy E. Stephen
How do you know when you’ve
become a success?
Is it when Wikipedia has an entry about you? Or when
your collection of science fiction novels is ranked 75th in
all of Kindle sales and first in high tech science fiction?
Or maybe it’s when publishers are pounding at your door,
wanting to get in on this highly-successful writing career
of yours that needed no publisher to get started? Or when
foreign translation rights to your books are purchased?
Movie deals are discussed?
For 36-year-old Union County native Hugh Howey, all
those occurrences are great, but that’s not why he writes.
“It's something I've always wanted to do at least once, like
climbing a mountain, just to say I did it.
“I tried quite a few times over the years and always gave
up. With the first Molly Fyde book (Molly Fyde and the
Parsona Rescue), I finally had a story that I really needed
to see through to the end. After that first one, I became
hooked on the process.”
In essence, he can’t stop himself from writing now.
“I enjoy science fiction because it's an escape and it's the
best genre for satirizing the human condition. You can
tweak some facet of our environment and see what the
results would be.
26 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
“The ‘Wool’ series turns all of humanity into an
observable microcosm and explores how we have to treat
one another in order to survive with limited space and
resources. It distills real issues that are normally so big
that we can ignore them into problems we can begin to
tackle and mull over.”
Hugh began the successful “Wool” series in 2011, initially
as a stand-alone short story. Now, the first five segments
have been combined into the Omnibus edition and he’s
already released the sixth segment, “First Shift – Legacy.”
In all, he’s published 14 books since late 2009 and doesn’t
appear to be slowing down. Sales reached into the
hundreds of thousands in the first three months of the
year, and they, too, don’t appear to be slowing. Neither do
the reviews or national and international press.
Sample reviews on Amazon read: “Probably destined to
be a science fiction classic,” “Simply the best” and “Best
book I’ve read in the last year.”
Recently, there were 478 reviews on Amazon of the
Omnibus edition with 439 giving the book five stars. “It’s
bizarre to have that much feedback,” Hugh commented.
Hugh didn’t envision himself as the prolific writer he’s
Union County
author hits
Amazon’s top ten
lists repeatedly
Hugh Howey and his dog, Bella Luna, spend time at the computer.
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 27
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Mon-Fri 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
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become when he was a child, more “that I would have a
series of jobs while I explored the world rather than lock
myself into a career.”
He did that for a few years, captaining multi-million
dollar yachts up and down the East Coast and in the
Caribbean. “The captaining came from time spent on my
own sailboat while I was in college and the time I spent
cruising around the Bahamas. When I found out people
would pay me to drive their boats, I decided I'd found my
calling.”
Just temporarily.
In an interview with “Wired,” Hugh explains his transition
to writing.
“Ever since I was 12, I dreamed of being an author. I just
never had the fortitude to see any of my stories through to
completion. I would start a book, get a few chapters in,
and grow bored or get distracted by something else.”
Later reviewing books for a website, he attended a book
conference where an author was asked, “What’s the best
advice for getting where you are now?”
The answer was quick – quit dreaming about it and start
doing it.
“It was totally talking to me, dreaming but not actually
writing,” Hugh said. “So I started writing. I had no
thoughts that it would get published or that it would be
worth reading.”
Obviously, for thousands of readers, his books are very
worth reading.
All of Hugh’s books (titles listed below) are available at
Amazon.com.
Half Way Home
Molly Fyde and the Blood of Billions
Molly Fyde and the Fight for Peace
Molly Fyde and the Land of Light
Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue
The Hurricane
The Plagiarist
Wool
Wool 2 - Proper Gauge
Wool 3 - Casting Off
Wool 4 - The Unraveling
Wool 5 - The Stranded
Wool Omnibus Edition
First Shift – Legacy
Hugh Howey and his dog, Bella Luna, spend time at the computer.
28 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
By Luanne Williams
It t was almost 20 years after “What to Expect
When You're Expecting” was published, and virtually every
post-teen woman I knew was either pregnant, a mother or
grandmother. Armed with loads of advice and flanked by
supportive parents and in-laws, I still had boatloads of
unanswered questions.
Yes, I had been a step-mom, but not to babies. Yes, I had
baby-sat infants, but not my own. And yes, I knew that
virtually every mother in history probably grappled with
some of the same issues when that squirmy little life was
placed in her arms, and most of them survived. But a control
freak and over-analyzer by nature, I truly wanted to know
more about what to expect. And I wasn't even pregnant.
Instead, my husband and I were awaiting a call to travel to
China to bring home a year-old girl.
The referral picture took our breath. She seemed to be
speaking right to our hearts, “I'm waiting for you. Are you
coming?” We felt as though we couldn't hop a plane quick
enough.
Fast-forward to today. She's 10 with waist-length hair, long
manicured nails and dark, almond eyes that alternately melt
my heart and infuriate me as they regularly roll back into her
head with pre-teen disdain. One minute she's deep in a book
and looks like a college co-ed home for spring break, and the
next she's chasing a toad across the patio, shooting a slingshot
or crying over an ailing fish.
Nearly a decade after my question-filled crisis, I'm not sure
Blessings of motherhood more bountiful than I could anticipate
Scott and Luanne Williams, just a few days after bringing baby daughter Dayli home from China in 2003.
I'm any more prepared for the task of motherhood than I was
on day one. But the blessings have been more bountiful than I
could have ever anticipated, the life lessons more valuable
than any chapter of my stash of parenting books.
For example, she quickly taught me that “being” is usually
more important than “doing.” Being available, being kind,
being attentive, being real. After years of “doing” a fast-paced
deadline-oriented job, this hasn't been easy for me. But I'm
realizing that very often she could care less what her Dad or I
are doing as long as we're with her and there's an opportunity
for interaction.
From the start, she also reminded me how much fun it is to
learn something new or to relearn something long forgotten.
Periodic table? Diagramming sentences? Latin vocabulary?
Whatever it is, learning alongside her and seeing the light
bulb come on when she “gets it” has been an absolute blast.
She's also shown me that sometimes spontaneity can be better
than the best laid lesson plans. For her, the slightest breeze is
a call to kite flying; nearly every
night is perfect for stargazing, and
every piece of paper suitable for
origami. No reason to wait for a
more opportune time. Just do it.
Like every child who came before
her and all who follow, she's
challenged her mother's patience,
(perhaps even sent me to the brink
of sanity if I'm to be honest),
broken her Daddy's heart more
than once and made life infinitely
more interesting than it was
before she showed up. To imagine
her living a life on the other side
of the globe that would not have
intersected with ours is absolutely
unbearable.
Even as I struggle on a daily basis
to figure out what's best for her
and to settle into a parenting
pattern somewhere between
hovering helicopter and super-lax
laissez fair-ist, it occurs to me that
there is no amount of preparation and no mountain of
information that could ever have made me ready for what was
to come beginning on that “Gotcha Day” in January 2003.
And even now, there's no fail-proof plan laid out for the next
decade or beyond. Just as the frustrations lay me out flat
some days, the unexpected joys will no doubt continue to
catch me off guard.
Author Elizabeth Stone said making the decision to have a
child is “to decide forever to have your heart go walking
around outside your body.”
I couldn't agree more. Sounds exactly like “what to expect
when you're expecting,” whether there's a pregnancy involved
or not.
Happy Mother's Day 2012.
Luanne Williams is a former newspaper editor and a
freelance writer.
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 29
Blessings of motherhood more bountiful than I could anticipate
Scott, Luanne and Dayli Williams on a recent vacation.
ComplimentaryPortfolioReview
Terry N Estes, CFP®Financial Advisor.
114 East Jefferson StreetMonroe, NC 28112704-283-1589www.edwardjones.com
Member SIPC
Beach, Blues
& BBQ
11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Downtown Monroe
Homemade Jamz Band, noon to 2
p.m.; Da Throwback Band, 2:30 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m. and Coastline, 5 p.m. to
7 p.m.
Carnival rides, food, arts, craft
vendors, "Touch-a-Truck" and Job
Ready Partnership dessert
competition.
Info: Tonya Edwards, (704) 282-4695
or tedwards@monroenc.org.
Union County
Chamber ofCommerce GolfTournament
10:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Firethorne Country Club
Player packages include lunch,
dinner, awards reception and raffle
drawings following play.
Register online at
www.unioncountycoc.com
30 Union Lifestyle l May 2012
1515things to do in
Union County
14May
5May
Cruise In /Harley DavidsonAddition
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Downtown Monroe along Main Streetis lined with classic cars for thismonthly event. Downtown restaurantsand merchants are open.
Free.
www.HistoricDowntownMonroe.org
11May
The Fantasticks
May 11, 12, 18, 19
7 p.m. each night.
Parkwood High School Fantasticks isthe longest running musical in history!
(704) 764-2900 for information.
11-19May
SpringFest
in Waxhaw
May 12: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
May 13: Noon – 6 p.m.
Downtown Waxhaw
This family fun event features morethan 100 artists and crafters, kidszone, live entertainment and food.
New this year for Mother's Day are amother-daughter tea party, Mother'sDay gift making and mommymakeovers.
Rain or shine and free.
Details: www.waxhaw.com.
12,13May
16th AnnualHospice of UnionCounty GolfTournament
11 a.m.
Providence Country Club
Supports mission of providing
compassionate, quality care to those
with life-limiting illnesses, regardless
of the ability to pay.
Info: (704) 292-2130.
21May
Union SymphonyOrchestra –“AmericanMusings”
4 p.m.
Batte Center at Wingate University
$15-$25
Online tickets: www.carolinatix.org
6May
Drumstrong
2012
May 19, beginning at 11 a.m. and
ending May 20 at 5 p.m.
Misty Meadows Farm, Weddington
Drumstrong was created to be a
vibrant part of BEATing cancer.
This year they will drum for 30 non-
stop hours! Individuals and teams
raise funds through pledges per hour
of drumming.
Includes health expo, vendors, kid
zone, yogathon, belly dancers,
parades, camping, drum circle.
$30 per person; $50 per family for the
entire weekend.
http://townofweddington.com/
community/events/
19-20May
Union Lifestyle l May 2012 31
Music on Main
6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Main Street in Monroe
Music by Billy Scott & The GeorgiaProphets (beach variety)
Bring your chairs.
Free.
www.HistoricDowntownMonroe.org
24May
Gatsby Gala
BenefitsMuseum of theWaxhaws
Henry Hall Wilson House
1301 Frankln St. in Monroe
7 p.m. - ?
Casino games, food, music, dancing.
$75 a person
www.MuseumOfTheWaxhaws.com
2June
Cruise In
Main Street, Monroe
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Downtown Monroe is lined with
classic cars for this monthly event.
Restaurants and merchants are open.
Free.
www.HistoricDowntownMonroe.org
8June
JAARS Day
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The JAARS Center in Waxhaw
Event designed for families to learn
more about worldwide Bible
translation and JAARS support
services.
At most JAARS Days you can:
Watch aviation demonstrations, learn
how Bible translators work, chat with
translators and other missionary
speakers, attend missionary stories
and other events for children.
Free
Info: (704) 843-7070
9June
Indian Trail
Family Fun Day
11a.m. - 6 p.m.
Crossing Paths Park, Indian Trail
Come out for some good old familyfun!
Free games, rides, food and craftvendors, music and more.
Info: (704) 821-5401
2June
Music on Main
6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Main Street in Monroe
Music by SummerDaze (variety)
Bring your chairs.
Free.
www.HistoricDowntownMonroe.org
Stallings MovieNight and BikeSafety Event
Fairhaven Park, 1025 Fair Oaks Drive
At 5 p.m., kids can learn about safebike riding practices.
A family-friendly movie will begin atdusk. Don’t forget your blankets andlawn chairs!
Free.
16June
28June
4630 W. Highway 74, Suite A v Monroe, NC 28110
(704) 289-6317 Phone v (704) 283-9438 Fax v www.cbmcpas.com
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Got an event
the public would enjoy?
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details – who, what, when,
where and why – to Union
Lifestyle for inclusion in the
magazine and/or online.
Send your information to
Editor@UnionLifestyle.com.
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