Spring and Early Summer Events

It has been quite a while since I blogged.  Two events have occupied my time since then.  

An event on March 24, 2012 changed my life and my families forever.  We have a new addition to the family, my grandson, Colton.  It was an exciting day for us.  He was born around 5:30 am.  

 Colton at 4 weeks

At this point he is 12 weeks old, holding his head up, cooing, ahhing, and just in general becoming more lively.  He never stops moving.  The photo below is of him Sunday with his cousin Sherri at our family cookout for Father's Day.

 Colton at 12 weeks with Cousin Sherri

The second event was the release of my newest nonfiction title, "Once and Forever: The Story of Mount Airy Granite."  So far it has done well and I have met lots of folks interested in the history of the granite quarry.  They are so interesting that it is leading to my next book the history of the granite stone cutters and employees of the quarry, as well as, possibly a children's book.  

 My booth at the Mount Airy Book Festival on June 16th

Here is a photo of my booth at the First Annual Book Festival of Mount Airy, North Carolina.  We had around 20 authors inside and outside the library.  With this book I have attended several festivals, almost one every weekend, taking one weekend off to rest. 

 This flower planter was designed and carved by a master stone cutter, Vincenzo "Big Jim" Alfano.  He migrated to America from Italy back in the 1920s.  Trained since the age of 11, he came to America with the skills to carve wonderful granite pieces such as this and the Wright Brother's Memorial and the Mount Airy Post Office.  

 The Italian Stone Cutters (Big Jim in the center)

Interestingly, Big Jim's best friend here in America was a stone cutter from Czechoslovakia.  I imagine they had a lot in common with the language barrier, distance from their homeland, and the level of expertise they possessed of stone cutting.  No doubt it was not appreciated as it should have been.  Across the street from Big Jim's was the Thompson Boarding house.  Today, it is still standing and is forsale.  The Thompson Boarding House was home to the Scottish stone cutters.  You can read more about Big Jim in my new book. 

As this research unfolds, I have discovered more granite in the city of Mount Airy like the large out croppings along the Ararat River.  

Weathering of the rock has created a mushroom like structure found in the next photo. This type of granite is not high enough quality to make it worth mining.  It is fragile and crumbles pretty easy.  

Quartz is also in abundance in Mount Airy.  The river bed is full of quartz boulders that are used in the rock stacking found in river. Most folks call this river rock in the area and sometimes you will find one millions of years old that is smooth, round, shaped like an egg from where water has run over it for many years or tumbled it in the river bed.  

This coming weekend I will be in Wytheville, Virginia at the Chautauqua Festival promoting my new book and my first one, Wythe County, Viriginia, in the Images of America Series.  This was my first book that was released in 2004.  As Kojack would say, "I've come a long ways Babe'!"  That is my grandfather sitting barefooted on the hood of that old Model T. 

February Snow

The Piedmont North Carolina received a wonderful surprise on Sunday, February 19, 2012.  We received a very nice snowfall.  As you can tell, I love LOVE snow.  It brings out the kid in me and awakens my memories.

Growing up in Carroll County, Virginia, we had lots of snow.  The winter of most precipitation that I remember was in the early 80's and we had snow every Wednesday.  We missed one month of school.  The roads were so bad that my sister and I moved in with our grandparents so that our parents could work.

My grandfather retired from the New Jersey Zinc Lead mines in Austinville, Virginia, a year or two before this happened.  He was a farmer at heart and raised beef cattle.  His little farm sat between two mountain peaks that we call affectionately a "hollar."  The sun only hit the house and the road a few hours of the day.

We had so much snow this particular winter that when he plowed the drive way , the snow was over 6 foot tall in piles lining the drive way.  That was just amazing.

The power went out several times that month.  It didn't bother us any.  My grandparents home was heated with wood and my grandmother cooked on a wood stove.  We just had to carry the wood in and carry water.  Their water came from a spring and was fed to the house by gravity as long as the pipes didn't freeze between the spring and the house.  The hard part was if you wanted to take a bath or wash your hair you had to heat enough water to fill the tub or rinse your hair.  For two mountain children that was part of the adventure.

Now you know why I love vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  It reminds me of that cold long January when my sister and I got snowed in with our grandparents. 

We spent many hours with him doing chores on the farm.  This particular snowy January, he spent hanging around the house.  Cold air hurt his chest so he didn't walk very far from the house.

The roads were just a sheet of ice as far as you could see in both directions. The department of transportation had not paved their road so it was still dirt and gravel.  With the ice, very few cars came through their neighborhood for weeks. I don't remember us going anywhere during those 4 weeks.

With no one traveling the roads, we took our sleds, and Grandpa Winesett, out into the road and proceeded to sled, day after day.  Until we were older we did not realize how special that time would be.  Unknown to the two of us he had been diagnosed with a heart condition and would  not live to many more years after that. But...what a special time that was and he took the time to play with us.  It was very special for many reasons but one of them being that while his children were growing up he didn't have the time to play with them because he worked a full time job and ran the farm. We got to do something with him that his own children had not done before. 

Below are some photos that I took today.  

Today, February 20, I stopped at one of my favorite places in Winston-Salem to take photos.  It is the Salem City Cemetery that sits near Old Salem.  One of the photos is of Bowman Gray's granite obelisk facing the new Wachovia building. It is right next to the big oak tree.

The second photo is that of the Reynolds family monument that faces Downtown Winston.  

This beautiful mausoleum under snow is the William Shaffner mausoleum.  It is built with Mount Airy Granite.  He was one of the 4 invested parties in the early 1920's.

This photo is the back of the Salem College Campus.

This Mount Airy Granite tombstone is one of my favorite carvings.  With the snow melting it is like the cross is crying with the woman weeping at the cross.

This beautiful bench has "Best Friends" carved into the side with a woman reading a good book.

Granite Obsessions

Welcome to my attempt at blogging.  It has been a year and the last one wasn't very successful so I am trying something really new to me.

In my blogs I am going to tell stories from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and maybe North Carolina, as well as, review some books that I am currently reading. My current obsession is Mount Airy Granite. 

Here is a photo taken on February 10, 2012 in Lansing, North Carolina.  Very soon my book about Mount Airy Granite will be out.  This is one of the little treasures that I have discovered since the final draft of my book was completed.

This darling little cottage is built from Mount Airy Granite and sits high on a hill just outside Lansing on Main Street.

This cute little cottage is located in West Jefferson, North Carolina.  An article that is in the vertical files in the library say that the stone was hauled in by train.  The stone is very heavy and was hauled by train to construction sites throughout the eastern United States. 

So you say, why obsess over Mount Airy Granite?  I love buildings, homes, monuments, etc. built with granite.  It is sturdy.  The stonemasons that carved from granite were artists in their own rights.  Every time I find something new I just want to say...."Wow!"  All over again.

Here is a typical carving of Mount Airy Granite found in Glendale Springs North Carolina at the Trinity Episcopal Church of the Frescoes.  Artist Ben Long painted the "Last Supper" in this church.  It is just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Trading Post.  The church doors are open around the clock.