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The fourth annual Pisgah Fly Masters fly-fishing tournament, sponsored by the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Davidson River Outfitters, is scheduled for March 19 and 20 in Transylvania County.
A casting competition on March 19 will test anglers skills in accuracy and distance. Winners will go on to the catch-and-release trout fishing finals, to be held March 20 on the Davidson River.
Anglers compete in one of three categories: fisherman, professional and youth under 16.
All money raised will go toward programming at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, a N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission site with exhibits and programs on mountain ecology located on U.S. 276 between Waynesville and Brevard.
Entry fees are $30 for youth (ages 10 to 15); $50 for anglers 16 and older; and $50 for the professional level. Entrants registered by March 3 will receive a 2011 tournament T-shirt. For rules, a prize list and entry forms, go to www.ncwildlife.org/pisgahflymasters. 828.877.4423.
Highlands Biological Station in April has received a partnership award in science, mathematics and technology education from the N.C. Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center, based in Research Triangle Park.
Founded in 1927, the Highlands Biological Station is a year-round biological field station and inter-institutional facility of the University of North Carolina system. The station has worked closely with Western Carolina University since becoming a part of the UNC system in 1976, and is directed by Jim Costa, WCU professor of biology.
Last year, the station offered 11 academic summer courses and workshops and hosted more than 360 students, faculty and researchers-in-residence. In addition, the associated Highlands Nature Center served more than 18,000 people in science-based outreach programming.
The award will be presented and a video shown April 16 at the Cary center’s annual celebration. Nightlight Productions of Chapel Hill produced the video about Highlands Biological Station’s efforts to support science education.
A restoration project to improve fish passage on streams feeding into the Little Tennessee watershed finished last month on Bradley Creek in Macon County.
Like with most creeks, Bradley Creek had been squeezed into culverts so roads could pass over it. But two of the culverts were too small and were damaged, causing flooding and were at risk of failing. The culverts were taken out and free-spanning bridges put in their place. Stream-bank restoration also was done.
The project was paid for with a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and employed local contractors. This is the second restoration by the Little Tennessee Watershed Association using the grant fund. The first project was finished in December 2009 on Watauga Creek in Macon County.
Old, collapsing culverts hinder migration of fish and other aquatic species.
The lower reaches of Bradley Creek is near a bed of endangered Appalachian elktoe mussels in the Little Tennessee River. Sediment was being dumped in the river via the creek.
If you are looking for a trail race — with the emphasis on “race” — the Assault on Black Rock Trail Race might not be for you.
But, if you are willing to walk, crawl or yes, run, your way to the top of a very tall mountain for fun and in the name of a really good cause — supporting Jackson County’s Community Table soup kitchen — this is the event for you, so mark March 19 as a day to spend in the woods.
The Assault on Black Rock is the brainchild of Brian Barwatt, a climber who loves to hike up Pinnacle Park, a 1,100-acre tract of land owned by the town of Sylva and previously used as a watershed. The pinnacle is 5,008 feet in elevation, and Barwatt said the estimated 8.3-mile race (he believes the distance might actually be just over 7 miles in reality, signs to the contrary) gains 2,700 feet on the way to the top.
“It is a really hard trail run,” Barwatt said. “It would take a topnotch trail runner to actually run it all.”
But, don’t despair: Barwatt has asked Jackson County Emergency Medical Service personnel to stay for up to eight hours that day — plenty of time for even the slowest of the slow to get to the top and back down again. Even sliding down on your rear end if you must.
Barwatt said he wants to support the Community Table, which feeds the hungry in Jackson County, and introduce people to the beauties of Pinnacle Park. Prizes will be awarded to top finishers. Pre-registration is $25 (www.active.com, there is a $3.25 fee); race-day registration is $30. The race is at 9 a.m. March 19, starting at Fisher Creek parking lot in Sylva.
828.506.2802 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Visit www.communitytable.org for registration forms.
— By Quintin Ellison
As part of the celebration of Read Across America, Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville is hosting two events that emphasize the importance of reading to young children.
Parents of preschoolers are welcome to come to a free workshop from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on March 1, that will address strategies for engaging kids in reading.
Kids from preschool to elementary are invite to a birthday party for Dr. Seuss at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 5.
Dr. Seuss on the Loose will include games, crafts, fun learning activities, Dr. Seuss books and or course, birthday cake.
828.456.6000
The WNC Historical Association and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial will host Western North Carolina author Wayne Caldwell from 2-4 p.m. on March 6.
The winner of the 2010 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, Wayne Caldwell, will appear in tandem with Stephen Woody, whose grandfather served as a model for Silas Wright, a main character in Caldwell’s recent novel, Requiem by Fire.
Caldwell’s novels are set in Cataloochee Valley, a community in the Smoky Mountains that residents were forced to abandon after the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
For further information contact the WNC Historical Association, at 828.253.9231 or The Thomas Wolfe Memorial at 828.253.8304.
Gary Carden has announced the first meeting of a book discussion group which will begin with a meeting at 5 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Sylva Senior Citizen Center in Room 129.
The first meeting will be devoted to establishing the time and date of future meetings and the selection of books to be discussed.
“Now is your chance,” said Carden. “If you have been wanting to talk about the historic background of Ron Rash’s Serena, or the similarities between To Kill a Mockingbird and Tom Franklin’s new novel, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, now is your chance.” A portion of the first meeting will be devoted to possible selections, including (but not limited to) Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone, William Gay’s short story collection, I Hate to See That Evening Soon Go Down, Harriette Arnow’s The Dollmaker and Margaret Miller’s Lamb in His Bosom.”
Carden emphasized that the group’s purpose is to discuss books in a casual, non-threatening atmosphere. Refreshments are encouraged and there will be free coffee.
For additional information, contact Gary Carden at 109-D Mountain Oaks Lane, Sylva, N.C., 28779 or mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To the Editor:
I thought the new Republican majority in the North Carolina legislature was elected because voters felt they could do more to generate jobs and improve the economy in North Carolina than the Democrats. Yet some of the first legislation from this body does nothing to generate jobs or improve the economy. Instead, this legislation would waste North Carolina taxpayer dollars on purely partisan issues.
The bill requiring voter picture identification at the polls, co-sponsored by Sen. Ralph Hise (Avery, Haywood, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, and Yancy counties), is estimated to cost North Carolina taxpayers $20 million.
My research tells me that improper voting in North Carolina is hardly a problem. Less than 5 votes in 1 million in North Carolina involve fraud that a photo ID would stop. You are more likely to be struck by lightning in North Carolina than have somebody steal your vote. This bill would discriminate against those who do not own cars — students, the elderly, people with disabilities, and low-income people, folks who tend to vote for the Democrats.
One of the other pieces of legislation is the bill to force Attorney General Roy Cooper to join legal action to block the federal law which requires residents to carry health insurance. Why should North Carolina waste taxpayer money on this effort when other states have already filed suit? This federal issue is already working its way through the court system, without the need to waste North Carolina taxpayer money.
The news is full of stories about draconian cuts to necessities — education, medical care, safety nets for low income folks, incentives to create jobs. Why waste taxpayer money on partisan politics when we need jobs?
Carole Larivee
Waynesville
To the Editor:
As soon as the federal budget was delivered to Congress, members like Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders trotted out the age-old whine that conservatives want to harm women and children. The fact is that without deep spending cuts all of us, but especially our children and grandchildren, will be saddled for years to come with high taxes and a lowered quality of life to pay for the our generation’s government debt. The federal government and many states are bankrupt thanks to irresponsible spending by Congress and legislatures.
Now all sides are weighing in with ideas to rein in the debt and future spending. In almost every case citizens will be asked to sacrifice with higher taxes and a myriad of taxes on numerous products and services. How about beginning with the sacrifice of those who brought us to this point – our elected officials. Let’s cut deeply into their perks, staffs and expenses, including the cadillac healthcare and pension programs enjoyed by members of Congress and the executive branch of the federal government.
Other suggestions on where to cherry pick for cuts – defense, entitlements, agencies and government supported organizations. But, the response is “ oh no, not me” as in the case of Wisconsin teachers who demonstrated in mass at their state capital.
Instead of singling out any one area, let’s cut 20 percent across the board. That would be cuts to all in the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government as well as every agency and department and special interest groups.
Private businesses create an annual budget every year and if the budget is lower than the previous year, department heads are told “here is your operating fund; you make the cuts needed to meet the current budget.” That makes sense to me. Do we need czars who are a duplication of bureaucrats already in place reporting only to the White House and paid thousands of dollars a year? Why do we continue to have troops and bases in countries like Germany?
Regardless of what side of the aisle you are on, all taxpayers should be demanding that elected officials get our fiscal houses in order immediately before these government bankruptcies truly collapse not only our way of life but also the ability to maintain our position in the world.
Carol Adams
Glenville
The National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family Education Program offers new spring classes for caregivers of individuals living with mental illness. Family-to-Family is a free, 12-week course led by John and Suzanne Gernandt, who are experienced in caring for a loved one with serious mental illness.
Participants receive current information on serious mental illness, learn about proven treatments, develop problem-solving skills and communication techniques and explore local community supports.
The class is scheduled to begin March 15 and will run for 12 weeks.
828.452.0058 or 828.400.1040.
A pancake breakfast will be held from 7:30 to 10 a.m. on Friday, March 4, at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Sylva, hosted by The Rotary Club of Sylva.
On offer will be hot and cold beverages, all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, and all the fixings, and proceeds go to the Stop Hunger Now project for world hunger relief.
Tickets are not needed and a $5 suggested donation is payable at the door.
Jackson County has decided to postpone its revaluation of property values from next year until 2015. A resolution to that effect is being prepared for adoption during the March meeting.
Tax Assessor Bobby McMahan this week recommended the delay, citing the extreme downturn of the real-estate market and the difficulty of accurately determining market value.
“Typical qualified sales used to establish a legitimate valuation are very scarce, and in some areas of the county nonexistent,” he told commissioners.
McMahan said more than 20 North Carolina counties have elected to postpone revaluation, including neighboring Macon County.
“With this postponement would come the hope of a revived real estate market and an overall improvement in the economy,” the tax assessor said. “Most importantly, a delay will provide the tax administration staff ample time to improve the current tax data by allowing time for field reviews to be performed on each existing parcel of property.”
The purpose of a revaluation is to determine fair market value for tax reasons.
Reach of Haywood needs volunteers for the nonprofit’s helpline.
Helpline volunteers can assist from home — or away from home — if they have a cell phone.
Other opportunities for volunteering are available, including helping at the REACH office on court days, and in the Safe Dates teen-education program. Volunteer training will be held Feb. 19 from 9:30 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. in Waynesville.
Lunch and snacks will be provided by REACH. 828.456.7898 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Free flu vaccines are available at the Haywood County Health Department while supplies last.
The flu vaccine is recommended for anyone over six months old and it is especially important for people at high risk of complications, including pregnant women, people with chronic diseases, very young children and the elderly.
The Health Department has approximately 2,000 doses of the vaccine.
Appointments are encouraged, but walk-ins will be accepted from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
828.452.6675 or 828.356.1111.
Four seats on the MedWest-Haywood hospital governing board will open up in April, with a deadline to apply of Feb. 28.
Applications can be accessed on the county’s web page at www.haywoodnc.net or at the county administrative building. Completed applications can be e-mailed to Rebecca Morgan, administrative assistant to the Haywood County Board of Commissioners, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or faxed to 452-6715.
The seats are currently held by Pam Kearney, Roy Patton, Suzanne Supola and Cliff Stovall.
The MedWest-Haywood board’s nominating committee will review the applications and make recommendations to the Haywood County Board of Commissioners for appointment.
Board appointments are for three-year terms.
Delays are expected on Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park beginning March 1, due to road rehabilitation.
In addition to repaving the road, thousands of feet of stone masonry retaining walls and several drainage culverts will be repaired, and one lane will be partially closed.
From June 11 until August 15, there will only be overnight lane closures, running from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m.
The project is scheduled for completion in October 2012 and is the first of three phases to repair all 15 miles of the road from Newfound Gap to the Park boundary at Gatlinburg, Tenn.
The full project will be finished in 2016.
A new community band called Mountain Winds is forming in Jackson County, led by Bob Buckner, outgoing director of athletic bands at Western Carolina University and Jon Henson, assistant director of the school’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band.
Musicians who played in high school or college bands are invited to join.
Henson said he decided to organize the band in response to interest from community members who share a love of music, want to develop their musical skills, and enjoy the camaraderie and experience of performing as a group.
828.227.2711 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Jackson County’s Children of Zion Singers will be perform a free concert at 4 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 27, at First Baptist Church of Clyde. The show is part of the Sunday’s On Main concert series. The Children of Zion have been singing together since 2004 and their musical selections vary from Southern Gospel to contemporary to Appalachian ballads
828.627.2201.
The Share the Warmth benefit concert featuring Balsam Range and Hominy Valley Boys is coming to Haywood Community College from 2 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 27.
The event is sponsored by HCC and Champion Credit Union and all donations collected will go to Mountain Projects to help area residents with heating costs. Donations are tax deductible and checks should be made payable to Mountain Projects.
Admission is a minimum donation of $10. Seating is limited with tickets available at Champion Credit Union and the HCC Foundation.
Brenda Fannon at 828.627.4522.
Legendary country star Kenny Rogers will make his way to The Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing arts at 7:30 p.m. on March 5, for performances of some of his greatest hits.
Rogers will entertain audiences with favorites from his vast catalogue of songs ranging from his heyday in the 70s to his recent resurgence in popularity on the country charts. The singer left the performance circuit to start his own label, but returned with the hits The Greatest and Buy Me A Rose.
The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre continues its Studio Theater season with The Oxymorons, an improvisational comedy troupe made up of many HART veterans.
The group has been in existence for a number of years and has become quite well known in Asheville. This will be their first appearance at HART. Original members Graham and Forest Livengood are joined by Strother Stingley, Sarah Felmet and a few new faces. For those not familiar with improvisational comedy, the group takes titles, words and ideas from the audience then builds a comic sketch on the spot. It requires actors with quick minds and a great sense of humor. Every performance is different.
“The Oxymorons” will perform Fridays and Saturdays March 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday March 6 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $8 for all adults and $5 for students, general admission. To make reservations call the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322. All performances are in the Feichter Studio Theatre, 250 Pigeon Street, Waynesville.
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss is coming to the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin at 7:30 p.m. on March 1 and 3, in a production by The Overlook Theater Company the Macon County Public Library.
Celebrate all things Dr. Seuss as Horton the Elephant, the Cat In the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, the Sour Kangaroo, and more sing and dance their way off the pages of some of his best-loved stories.
828.524.3600
The anime club returns to Marianna Black Library 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26.
Bryson City has an anime group of its own, and for fans, this is a chance to watch anime on a big screen with a theater-style sound system. Admission is free and so are the snacks.
The anime club meets at the library on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
A free children’s art class is being offered on March 5 at the Uptown Gallery in Franklin.
Students must be at least 8 years old and preregistration is required.
828.369.0356.
A motorcycle ride aimed at raising funds for the heating bills of the elderly is coming to Waynesville at 12 p.m. on Feb. 26 in the ICMC Clubhouse.
Attire is boxer shorts (over briefs) vest, gloves and boots. Women can wear a bathing suit top or t-shirt.
The entry fee is $20 single or $30 for two or more. The route will be around Waynesville and participants can change into their riding attire at the club house. Refreshments will be available before and after the ride.
The Overlook Theatre Company will host a Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Party on at 6 p.m. on March 2 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts. The event is sponsored by Party Zone and will include games, stories, visits by favorite Dr. Seuss characters and a special birthday cake.
Adults and children can learn the joys of handweaving from classes offered by Susan Morgan Leveille, professional weaver and teacher for more than 35 years. Day and evening classes for students of all levels are being held at her Dillsboro studio.
828.586.6542
The Wildlife Club at Haywood Community College will hold a fundraiser at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25.
The dinner/potluck will be at the Haywood County Fairgrounds off N.C. 209. A $10 donation is requested; $5 if you bring a potluck dish. There will be live music, a drawing, a silent and live auction and a grand prize of a lifetime N.C. hunting/fishing license.
828.627.4560
Two soil erosion-control trainings are available to contractors in Western North Carolina in early March. One is classroom-based and free, the other is in the field and has an admission fee.
A Mountain Soil Erosion Control training will be held from 8:05 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2, at the Almond Campus of Southwestern Community Center in Swain County. Richard McLaughlin, a lead soil scientist with N.C. State University and director of sediment and erosion control research, will be the presenter. He will cover erosion control, sediment control and turbidity control. Admission is free but registration is required.
The second training led by McLaughlin will be on installation of construction site erosion and sediment-control devices, and will be held twice: Thursday, March 3, and Friday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Highlands Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River. The cost is $30.
Both training sessions fulfill Swain County requirement for annual erosion-control training. Register at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.488.8418.
Order forms for edible bushes and other plants are now available from the Haywood County Master Gardener Association.
Plants available include: red, black and golden raspberries, blackberries, asparagus, blueberries, strawberries and various shrubs.
Money raised by the plant sale goes to the Haywood County Master Gardener Association grant program, which funds horticultural projects and scholarships for horticultural students from Haywood County.
Orders due by March 16. Order forms are available at the N.C. Cooperative Extension on Raccoon Road in Waynesville or call 828.456.3575 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or go to www.masteryourgarden.blogspot.com, or ask any member of the Master Gardener Association.
Plants will be available for pick up on April 9 at the cooperative extension.
Volunteers are needed to help transplant rivercane from near Western Carolina University to a site near Cherokee as part of a rivercane restoration project.
Rivercane is a mainstay of Cherokee culture, and traditionally has been used in making baskets, blowguns and mats. It once was plentiful along stream banks and floodplains in Western North Carolina, but the species has been heavily impacted by development. WCU and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are working together to restore the native bamboo. Not much rivercane still grows in Cherokee, so WCU students and faculty members started working with Cherokee tribal members last fall to move plants from Cullowhee Valley to the site near the Cherokee school.
“Over the course of four days in October, volunteers dug up rivercane behind the baseball stadium on campus, wrapped the roots in plastic, loaded them onto a truck and replanted them in Cherokee,” said Adam Griffith, a staff member in WCU’s Program for the study of developed shorelines. “The dense network of tough underground stems and roots made the digging difficult, but the result was the planting of more than 50 feet of underground stems and 30 above-ground stems.”
A much larger rivercane transplantation effort is planned for March and April to a site at the new Cherokee Central School.
“The long-term goal of the project is to establish a patch of rivercane on Cherokee tribal land that can be used for educational purposes and even harvesting by Cherokee artisans,” Griffith said.
The transplanting work is scheduled for March 11 and 19, and April 1, 2, 8 and 9.
Visit rivercane.wcu.edu or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Area landowners who have rivercane on their properties they’d like to donate are asked to contact Griffith.
There’s a new handicapped-accessible fishing pier in Western North Carolina, located at the Charles D. Owen Park in Buncombe County.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recently partnered with the Buncombe County Parks, Greenyard and Recreation Department to construct the pier. This is a six-section, floating fishing pier on the larger of the two lakes in the 29-acre park. The pier is 59-feet long with a 48-foot wide T-section at the end. It has low, angled handrail sections allowing easy access for children and anglers confined to wheelchairs.
A handicapped-accessible approach sidewalk and associated parking will be added, too, ensuring the park’s pier fully complies with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.
There are plans to install a solar-powered fish feeder within casting distance of the new pier.
“Trout fishing in the Swannanoa River requires skills that not everyone has – particularly children,” said Jay Nelson, athletic coordinator for Buncombe County Parks, Greenways and Recreation Department. “This new universally accessible fishing pier and fish feeder will be an ideal place to take the family fishing.”
Nantahala Outdoor Center is donating nearly $5,000 worth of paddling equipment for the recovery of injured military veterans.
The donation will benefit the Johnson City, Tenn., chapter of Team River Runner, a nonprofit organization established to help military personnel wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. NOC is donating an Ultimate Propel Kayak (pedal powered boat), an Ultimate Volt Kayak (battery powered boat), personal flotation devices and other miscellaneous paddling items.
Established in 2004 by kayakers in Washington, D.C., Team River provides military personnel an opportunity to heal from profound psychological and physical wounds by exploring the challenges of kayaking.
The Johnson City chapter has led 40 military veterans through its paddling program, teaching them kayaking skills as an avenue to aid in their physical and emotional recovery after being wounded.
“Saving our Streams” movie night and classroom bug exploration is set for Feb. 24 from 6:30-7:45 p.m. at the Grove Church outside of Bryson City sponsored by the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River.
The event will feature hands-on lessons about creatures that live in creeks, giving folks a chance to look for invertebrates in water samples collected just hours before. There will also be a short movie demonstrating how groups in other parts of the country work to safeguard their rivers and streams. WATR will share sign-up information for upcoming volunteer stream days this spring.
“As a community, we should also have a goal of developing more ‘citizen scientists’ who collect samples and learn the basic information of how watersheds operate so that they teem with life,” said Roger Clapp, WATR director.
The Grove Church is at 1127 Franklin Grove Road.
Additionally, WATR will have its annual meeting in the community room at the Ginger Lynn Welch Complex in Cherokee at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 28.
Educators from throughout the region are invited to attend a one-day conference focusing on literacy hosted by Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions.
The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, in the A.K. Hinds University Center Grandroom on the WCU campus.
Highlights include breakout sessions and a keynote address by Katie Wood Ray, a full-time writer and researcher on the teaching of writing who leads workshops and summer institutes across the nation. Ray is a former elementary and middle school teacher and developer at Columbia University’s Reading and Writing Project.
Registration includes lunch and is $50, $25 for students.
Elaine Franklin at 828.227.3318 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To the Editor:
The tragedy in Arizona resulting in loss of life and injury to so many people was horrible. For one deranged person to have caused such pain is beyond belief.
What made the event even worse, if possible, were the immediate conclusions being made attributing the attack to political vitriol, combative language during the elections, and the Tea Party movement. Ascribing malicious and dangerous motives to a grassroots group is, at best, mistaken, and at most, an effort to quash healthy discourse by demonizing one’s adversaries.
Since the Tea Party has been growing in number and influence, we have been called red-necked, rebellious and racists, among many other even more vicious names. Attempts have been made to downplay and ridicule the basic tenets upon which we stand.
As a country, our people have spent years absorbed in our own lives and allowing decisions to be made, which have begun to erode the beliefs upon which our country was founded. We, the silent majority, have permitted those choices in the mistaken belief that we had no influence on what happened … that our one voice didn’t count.
So we – average, middle-class, educated people of all ages – began to gather in an attempt to make a difference and to bring the power of the government back home to our communities and the individual. There is no rancor in our midst, just determination. We do not uphold violent behavior and disrespect, just our right to discuss and disagree.
If you ever attended one of our meetings or stood with us on the corner as we held up signs, you would find that we are a non-combative, conscientious, conservative group who believe in the process of our government and our ability to have it work for us.
So, when we listened to the sheriff of Pima County veer from his report – which should have been an update on an investigation – to personal comments about vitriol, Sharon Angle, Sarah Palin, and Tea Parties, we were surprised and hurt. To suddenly be placed in the spotlight as possible contributors to an act of insanity was negligent and irresponsible on the part of the sheriff and led to further division between people of differing political beliefs. We do not appreciate the attempts by some representatives of our government to use a horrible event to drive a wedge between Americans.
Insanity has no bounds and needs no reason. Any one event could be a trigger that sets a deranged person on a violent path. If there is any change that could be made as a result of Jared Loughner’s horrendous act, let it be changes in the way people handle those with possible psychiatric needs.
Our elected officials should use the common sense, with which they have been attributed, to think before they speak. Judgments about a group of people about which it seems many have no knowledge, is unacceptable. The events of Jan. 8, 2011, in Arizona need not bring out the political correctness police and cause reasonable conversation with no evil intent to be stifled.
As a group, we will continue to exercise our rights to express our opinions, to expect our elected officials to represent us, the people, and to be treated with the respect that we are due as citizens of the greatest country in the world.
You are all in our constant prayers that God will give you wisdom and discernment in your decision making.
Gail Chapman
President
Mountain Patriot Tea Party
To the Editor:
I’m not sure if I’m angry, embarrassed, disappointed, or a combination thereof because of an event that was held here in Franklin, Saturday, Jan. 22.
The American Legion Post 108 held a Constitutional Speech competition for high school students. Students were to give an eight- to 10-minute prepared speech on the Constitution of the United States. The second part of the contest was a three- to five-minute extemporaneous speech on a selected amendment to the Constitution. Prizes were awarded and the winner is eligible to participate in the next level of the contest to be held in Hickory. As the student continues winning in the competitions, he or she is able to win large sums of monies for their college education.
Our Legion Post is to be commended for their organization, with judges, timers, assistants for the students, and other members there to assist or just add support. These Legion members who have served our country, defending our Constitution while in the armed forces, gave up their Saturday to be there to help the students.
At this first level of competition there were just two students participating from all of Western North Carolina, one from Waynesville and one from Murphy. There were no students – none, zero, nada – from Franklin or any part of Macon County. Does this indicate the level of their patriotism, of love and respect for our country? The lack of gratitude for lives lost, or the sacrifices made by past generations, their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents so that young Americans can continue to live under freedom.
If this is the case, where have we gone wrong? It is our duty to set an example for our young people and instill the values and principles of American “Exceptionalism.”
Hal Chapman
Otto
To the Editor:
I read with interest your article, “A New Day for Dillsboro” (Smoky Mountain News, Feb. 9). As a resident of Jackson County and a former business owner in town, it has been unfortunate to watch what has happened to the town since the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad pulled out in 2008. Economic downturn or not, an attraction bringing 60,000 people a year into a town not otherwise a destination is certainly a boon for any merchant, and with the train leaving, there would have been a definite downturn in business no matter the economic climate.
Moreover, the train – with its advertising budget – could reach people from all over the world, drawing them to this quaint village. Without an attraction to draw tourists, the town’s tourist trade and businesses were certain to dwindle.
Many good people have chosen to close their businesses or have moved on to bustling towns in order to survive. The town and the train had a symbiotic relationship that failed to be nurtured and cultivated, making it easy for the train to leave the town when GSMR decided to consolidate its business operations in Bryson City.
What might have happened if they had chosen to consolidate their business to Dillsboro?
I am glad to hear the train is resuming partial trips back to Dillsboro, and I hope the result is an increase in business, a reacquaintance of tourists to the town, and a return to the bustling atmosphere that used to exist there.
Ron Moss
Whittier
By Scott Muirhead • Guest Columnist
Politics aside, what could possibly be more absurd than plastic flowers? (OK, there are hundreds of things, I know, but we’re on a tight schedule here. Besides, polyethylene gladioli are long overdue for a bashing.)
Fake flowers seem to be the darlings of those who obviously do not grasp the concept of real flowers. But to avoid stumbling into a pit of poetic mush, let’s just say that the bittersweet joy of flowers, ahem, stems from their impermanence. Whether on the vine or bush or in a gilded vase, flowers die. We bring them indoors fragrant and fresh, luminescent and vibrant, then in a few days they shrivel and blacken and die. It is then that they are unceremoniously but with admitted satisfaction dropped into a trash bag. They had for a few days splendidly served as one of our better metaphors for life, which, like the flowers, is real and limited.
Meanwhile, plastic flowers, those illegitimate offspring of the oil fields, those insolent phonies squat on the credenza reeking of cheap commercialism, collecting dust and never changing. Life is not like that, although I suspect there are wives within the readership of this very newspaper who consider their husbands to be a lot like plastic flowers.
Maybe fake flowers are good for guilt. You can place a plastic bouquet of jasmine and hydrangea by a tombstone, and you don’t have to come back for months. Best of all, no guilt! Everybody who happens by will think you had just been there that morning.
Otherwise, the point of artificial blooms eludes me. I suppose they are economical. They never go away, and money spent on real daffodils and roses could be more enjoyably applied at Burger King or for a cell phone upgrade. In all its shapes and forms and embodiments, plastic is eternal, you know.
Plastic flowers are especially tedious for those who travel interstate highways, where every 50 feet or so there is a little makeshift memorial, a wad of mud-spattered chrysanthemums adorning what may appear to be a rhinestone studded candy box left over from Valentine’s Day.
The memorials are a bit of a distraction, actually. Drivers are craning their necks trying to read the epitaphs at 70 miles an hour, on the outside chance they know something about the departed. Such behavior will inevitably result in even more roadside plastic.
There is something quizzical about the interstate testimonials. If a homeowner falls and breaks his neck cleaning gutters, does his wife rush to K-Mart for a buggy full of fake baby’s breath and Queen Anne’s lace? Does she jab a little PVC lilac cross in the ground at the head of the deceased? No. She collects the insurance and hightails it to the casino. But just let that dolt husband of hers get killed on the highway and see what happens. There’ll be plastic purple tulips everywhere!
And probably there is not a church house in the land whose narthex or altar is not — shall we say — adorned with the colorful petals and leaves of a Taiwanese injection mold factory. There is something ironic about that artificiality.
But where the utilitarian beauty of fake flora is most abundant is in our delicately manicured graveyards, where spring springs eternal. Why visit the gardens of Biltmore? You can see all the pretty flowers you want, anytime of year, right down the street at the nearby cemetery. But what about the poignancy that is life? Isn’t it dying and death that make life so precious?
And lest you think me a completely callous monster, I confess I am not immune to the sadness that sometimes accompanies the death of a family member or business associate. But I like to mark the occasion with real cut flowers. In a few days they, like the memory of the dearly departed, wilt and vanish. You can read all about it in Ecclesiastes.
(Scott Muirhead claims to have enrolled in a sensitivity course in college, but admits he dropped out after a few minutes. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
A seminar on how to use marketing to increase sales will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Bethea Welcome Center at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center.
More seminars are scheduled for Feb. 24, March 3, March 17 and March 24. Topics will include social media, increasing productivity, accelerating cash flow in a soft economy and more.
The seminar topics are the result of a recent community survey concerning business growth in a soft economy. The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce compiled a series of seminars to give tips to help local businesses grow this year, and beyond.
Pre-registration is required. 828.456.3021.
MedWest Health System will recognize outstanding athletes from Haywood, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and the Cherokee Indian Reservation through the Game On! spot in local newspapers.
The Game On! spot will acknowledge individuals who have exemplified outstanding performance, winning attitudes and great sportsmanship.
Outstanding athletes will be recognized with photos and a summary of their accomplishments. This awards program is open to student athletes, senior citizens and sports enthusiasts.
Members of the community can sign up to receive text alerts about the player of the week. To signup for the text alerts, send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Coaches, team members and community residents can nominate an outstanding athlete. Nominations for the Game On! recognition should send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; along with a photo of the athlete, preferably in uniform or in action.
U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, has been appointed to serve on the House Committee on the Budget.
“Our nation’s exploding debt has become the single greatest threat to America’s economic future,” Shuler said. “The Budget Committee in the 112th Congress will play a pivotal role in setting the fiscal course of our nation for next two years and, hopefully, for years to come.”
The committee determines the country’s spending priorities and develops the annual federal budget.
In addition to the committee on the budget, Shuler serves on the committee on transportation and infrastructure.
Local Girl Scouts will begin this year’s cookie drive beginning Feb. 12.
Cookies are only available for approximately two months, then the girls decide where the proceeds go.
This year, Girl Scouts can also track their goals online and become part of a safe online Cookie Connector asking their friends and families to purchase cookies. Price per box is $4, and all of the proceeds generated from the Girl Scout Cookie Program stay within the girls’ local area.
Western Carolina University supporters have the chance to grow a student emergency fund when they commission a brick paver for the Catamount Legacy Walk.
Each 4-by-8-inch, reddish-orange brick paver commissioned through a $125 gift to the Catamount Legacy Walk will be engraved with a message from the donor and installed on a walkway on campus.
Eighty percent of each Catamount Legacy Walk donation goes directly to the WCU Division of Student Affairs Student Emergency Fund, with the remaining amount used for maintenance of the walk and Alumni Tower. The student emergency fund, which is administered by a committee, offers limited financial assistance when students are unable to meet immediate, essential expenses because of temporary hardship resulting from an emergency.
With enough donations, the first section of 300 pavers will be engraved and installed as a group near the Alumni Tower in the spring before commencement, as an executive assistant with Martha Stewart Living.
Visit legacywalk.wcu.edu or 828.227.7234.
A health-care policy forum is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, in the Catamount Room of the A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University.
The Department of Political Science and Public Affairs and the Public Policy Institute is hosting the event
The health-policy forum is a part of the Quality Enhancement Plan’s “Sweet ‘N Low” initiative. Designed to enhance the educational experience of students at WCU with thematic and interdisciplinary learning opportunities, the forum will address health policy issues affecting Western North Carolina.
Panelists will include representatives from the WNC medical community, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies. Topics to be discussed include federal health care legislation and the impact of budget shortfalls on health care in the region.
The event is free and open to the public. 828.227.3862 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership today announced twenty grants, totaling nearly $245,000, have been awarded to help preserve and promote Western North Carolina’s heritage.
The grant awards will help support diverse initiatives across the North Carolina mountains and foothills, focusing on craft, music, natural heritage, Cherokee traditions and the region’s legacy in agriculture. These five facets of the region’s heritage earned the 25 counties of Western North Carolina a Congressional designation as the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area in 2003.
The nonprofit organization charged with preserving, interpreting, developing and celebrating the rich and unique natural and cultural heritage in the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.
The twenty awards include:
• $17,850 to the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project for an initiative to link new farmers to available farmland and to stimulate farm and food tourism.
• $5,000 to the Asheville Art Museum for an exhibition of Appalachian, Cherokee and low-country baskets.
• $1,500 to the Bethel Rural Community Foundation to support the nomination of the Francis Mill in Waynesville to the National Register of Historic Places.
• $3,500 to the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design for an interpretive brochure highlighting the EnergyXchange in Yancey County and the Jackson County Energy Park.
• $3,525 to the Clay County Communities Revitalization Association, to support curriculum materials and events associated with the Nelson Heritage Park Cherokee exhibit in Hayesville.
• $12,500 to the Great Smoky Mountains Association for the production of videos highlighting points of interest within the North Carolina portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
• $15,000 to Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. to support curriculum and teacher development for local Junior Appalachian Musicians programs.
• $22,000 to the Stecoah Valley Arts, Crafts & Educational Center for classes and workshops on craft, music, dance, and culinary arts.
• $24,998 to the Western Carolina University Hunter Library for the research and documentation of mountain potteries and Cherokee pottery.
Since its inception in 2003, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership has awarded 90 grants totaling nearly $1.5 million and leveraged another $2.7 million in matching contributions from local governments and the private sector. These grants have funded projects in all 25 counties of Western North Carolina.
The Haywood County Board of Realtors is offering continuing education classes for current N.C. Real Estate License holders. The four-hour class called Mandatory Update will be held in the morning and the elective class Client Level Negotiating will take place in the afternoon Tuesday, March 15. Each class will be led by Ben Wirtz from the Superior School of Real Estate. The cost of the morning session is $60 or $120 for both. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.452.5096.
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A “Home Based Business Expo” will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 26, at the Whistle Stop Mall in Franklin. This free expo, organized by The Center for New Mountain Business, will teach people about home-based business opportunities and small business resources in the area.
The event will offer information from vendors who specialize in areas such as marketing, financing, book-keeping, networking, office supplies and more. Other companies involving nutritional coaching, digital assistance, party hosting and travel planning will be present to talk about job openings in home-based businesses.
Table rentals start at $25 and must be reserved by Feb. 21. 828.369.8660 or NewMountainBusiness.com.
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The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is offering a seminar on social media from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 15, at Southwestern Community College. Topics covered will include blogging, search engines, Facebook, Twitter, Flikr, LinkedIn, Web site analytics and more. The cost of $5 includes a light lunch and computers are provided. Pre-registration is required as these seminars quickly sell out. 828.586.2155.
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Business owners in Western North Carolina counties can now tap a new type of loan through The Sequoyah Fund called The New Economy Fund. It provides loans of $50,000 to $250,000 for green, knowledge-based or creative economy businesses located in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. Loans are available for new or ongoing businesses.
The Sequoyah Fund is a Cherokee-based nonprofit, independent Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and focuses on assisting business owners who are not having their needs met with traditional bank loans. In addition, the fund supports businesses with training, one-on-one counseling and business development resources. 828.497.1666.
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Learn how to sell items on eBay through the Small Business Center of Haywood Community College, which is offering a free seminar Wednesday, Feb. 23, from 6-9 p.m.
Learn best practices to use when setting up an account, how to list items for sale and how to take payments and shipping.
Other topics include eBay features and policies, registering an account, choosing formats and categories, writing descriptions that sell, taking and submitting photos, feedback, using PayPal and shipping tips. Held at the Regional High Technology Center. 828.627.4512.
I combine several recipes for my own version of the cassoulet and I don’t think that I’ve make a cassoulet the same twice. That’s the beauty of this dish — it is versatile and can be adapted to accommodate available ingredients. But I warn you it is time-consuming (much like love!) so allow enough time to prepare it properly. I usually begin the preparation at least a day ahead of the serving time for the process cannot be hurried. The beauty of this dish is that it can be adjusted to taste; add more or less garlic and herbs. The flavoring is based entirely on individual taste.
Required ingredients (all easy to find in our area):
1 lb. of dried Great Northern beans
2 quarts of water
32 ounces of chicken broth (I prefer Swansons)
2 sprigs of fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon thyme
1 ½ lb. boneless pork shoulder
6 slices of thick-sliced applewood-smoked bacon (you can find it at Walmart)
1 onion chopped
2 or 3 garlic cloves finely chopped, 3 or more whole cloves, halved
Small package of baby carrots
1 tablespoon of honey
Garlic-Crumb Topping
1 tablespoon (or more) minced garlic
5-6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 ½ cups coarse bread crumbs (I use Pepperidge Farm herb-seasoned crumbs)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Optional Ingredients:
6 duck or chicken legs (I have always used chicken because duck is hard to find and it works out fine)
3 or 4 links of chicken garlic sausage (I found this at Ingles)
Generous splash of sherry wine vinegar
3 leeks, sliced
2 stalks of chopped celery
I begin with soaking the white beans overnight. After washing and draining them the next day, I put them in a big pot with the water and chicken broth and a large herb bouquet. The herb bouquet is made by cutting a square of cheesecloth, placing the parsley, bay leaf, cloves, peppercorns and thyme in the middle of the square and tying it securely with a piece of kitchen string. The herb bouquet is cooked with the beans on top of the stove on low heat for an hour to one and 1/2 hours or until beans are just tender. Leave the beans in their cooking liquid until ready to use, then drain but reserve the cooking liquid.
Fry the bacon slabs in an iron skillet. Remove the bacon when almost done and brown the pork shoulder roast on all sides in the bacon grease. The grease needs to be hot and it will smoke some. When all the sides are browned, return the bacon slices to the top of the pork roast. Cover the skillet with heavy duty aluminum foil and bake in a 325 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Check it every hour or so and add some water if it looks dry. You will want the pork to be falling-apart done when you take it from the oven.
While the pork is cooking, sauté the onions in some olive oil for about 5-10 minutes until they are opaque and add the garlic cloves (both chopped and whole) and sauté with the onions for about 2 minutes or until you have lightly browned the garlic. If you want to add leeks and/or celery, this is the time to sauté them along with the onions and garlic.
Cook the carrots in boiling water for about 10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain the water and add some honey to the carrots. Set aside.
Remove the pork shoulder from the skillet when it is done and while it is cooling in a bowl, cook the duck or chicken legs in the grease that is still left in the skillet. When the legs are browned and done (no blood seeping through), remove them to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
Brown the sausage links in the grease, adding a little olive oil if the skillet gets too dry. Remove the sausage links to a paper towel lined plate.
Now it is time to assemble the cassoulet. This is the fun part. First pull apart the pork shoulder roast. It should pull apart easily if it is well-done. I just shred it with my fingers or a fork into bite-sized pieces. Next I spread the beans, pork pieces, onion/garlic mixture, carrots, chicken legs, sliced sausage links and about 3-4 cups of the reserved broth into an earthenware (or cast iron—plenty to choose from at Walmart if you don’t have one) oven-proof bowl. I stir this mixture a couple of times, then sprinkle some salt, pepper, thyme and some fresh parsley over the mix. This is optional but I like a savory mix. Bake in the covered container for about 30-45 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven.
While the cassoulet is baking, assemble the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Sauté the minced garlic in a cleaned skillet mixed with hot olive oil over moderate heat until fragrant, about one minute. Add the bread crumb mixture and stir until crumbs are crisp and golden, about three minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in parsley.
Serve the cassoulet with crumb topping. This is a one-dish meal and needs only a loaf of French bread (the Baggett looks and tastes best) and maybe a simple green salad to accompany it. Serve in sturdy bowls with cloth napkins and light candles. This is a meal made from and for love.
Pear Tarte Tatin
This is an easy dessert but it looks beautiful and elegant when served and it makes a lovely presentation for the one or ones that you love. You can substitute apples or plums for the pears but the pears are really delicious.
Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
½ stick of butter (use butter not margarine)
½ cup granulated white sugar
2 tablespoon honey
2 pounds (about 6 medium) firm-ripe pears, cored and peeled
½ teaspoon fresh lemon zest
½ teaspoon powered nutmeg (freshly grated if you have it)
Working on a clean and floured surface, roll the pastry dough into an 11 inch circle and chill it.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet. Add the sugar and cook it for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to evenly caramelize the sugar. The sugar is done when it has turned a medium golden brown hue. (If you cook it too long—as I did the first time!—it will turn to a hard caramel candy and you will need to scrap out the mess and start over!) Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the honey and set it aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the pears in half and toss them gently but thoroughly with the lemon zest and nutmeg. Arrange the pears in a single layer in the hot caramel and honey in the skillet.
Drape the pastry over the spiced pears, fitting the overhang down between the fruit and the sides of the skillet. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry turns golden brown. Cool the tart Tatin in the skillet for 30 minutes before inverting it onto a serving plate.
Serve slices warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top and voila! You have a beautiful dessert that is unique and made with love.
By Karen Dill • Guest Writer
I was driving through the south of France in February 1985 when I had an experience that taught me the importance of the mystical union of food and love. I had my mother and young son in tow, and while we had a wonderful week traveling the country roads from Frankfurt, Germany, to Marseille, France, I was pregnant with my second child, physically tired and achingly homesick for the mountains of North Carolina.
I had lived in Europe for five years and had not been back to the United States during this time. I had convinced myself that I loved this foreign life and was too sophisticated for a common case of homesickness. But traveling on this Sunday morning in February, the week of my daddy’s death five years earlier, fraught with hormones, missing my daddy and hungry for the food of my childhood, I was homesick for the home I knew best —the green mountains of western North Carolina. There is no homesickness, I’ve discovered since, that is more powerful than the longing for your mountain home.
We had been riding for over two hours on a side trip to Toulouse and as we passed small country inns, I could smell the delicious food that had been cooking over stoves for hours and the smell was both familiar and haunting. I remembered Sunday dinners (the noon meal right after church) of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans or the standard roast with the same side dishes. It was always a special meal — one of the few during the week that featured meat. The smell coming through the front door after church was intoxicating.
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I remembered the lines from Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down:” “… the Sunday smell of someone frying chicken … and it took me back to something that I’d lost somehow, somewhere along the way.” The grief that I felt at those moments was overwhelming. I kept driving, blinking back tears and trying to swallow the enormous lump that had formed in my throat. I wanted desperately to be back at my childhood home in Bethel with my mother cooking her standard Sunday meal and I wanted my son to understand the importance of communion in a simple house with people that you love.
But there were practical matters to attend to: we were hungry and finding a place to eat had become a daunting task. The problem was finding a compromise for my mother and 5-year old son.
My mother, a mountain native from Madison County and not well-traveled, preferred simple dishes with ingredients that she could recognize and pronounce. She had been patient throughout this week in France but I could sense that her sweet disposition might turn south if she had to face another meal of snails or goose liver. My son was clamoring for pommes frites and schnitzel — a fine German dish but we were in France. I was caught in the middle — arbitrator between two generations, caught in a compromise in the web of love and food, wanting to placate both mother and son.
The primal needs for love and food are so intertwined that the unraveling often takes a lifetime. Our first romances are with our mothers. They feed us; they nurture us; and thus the entanglement begins. We need and love the mothers who provide us with food. Each mouthful of food accepted by the child is proof that the love is reciprocated and the entanglement continues in an evolutionary fashion. We show love with food; we woo with food; we seduce with food. We are drawn toward simple food that nurtures in our childhoods, move toward food that excites when we find lovers and return to the comfort foods when the raging passion ebbs. The evolution is complex and universal. It encompasses relationships between families, lovers and many generations.
So on this beautiful Sunday afternoon in February, I did what one must do to balance a relationship between mother and child and the desire for food. I did what anyone who loves must do. I listened to my heart, trusted my instincts and took a giant leap of faith. When a homely and comfortable auberge (inn with a restaurant — the best to head for in France for a good home cooked meal) appeared around the next curve, I pulled over and took my mother by her arm, my son by his hand, and bravely entered the dining room of the small French inn.
The room was filled with Sunday diners as the noon meal in France is a popular family occasion. I saw mothers, grandmothers, grandchildren sitting together, enjoying simple country dishes. My homesickness was abating in this foreign yet familiar setting and I could sense that my mother and son were beginning to relax.
I don’t remember the words that were used — my French is elementary at best — but as our waitress looked at us and we looked at her, she seemed to know what we needed. We needed simple country comfort food and it was at this table that we came to know and love the cassoulet. We ordered a dish that was unknown to us but the ingredients were familiar and the sound of the dish’s name was much like our own casserole. The dish contained savory chunks of pork, white beans, duck legs, herbs and a garlic crumb topping — a one-dish wonder.
The cassoulet that we were served in this simple dining room in France would become a model for many meals over the next two decades. I could always find the common ingredients wherever I lived and shopped and the ingredients could be altered to accommodate tastes and locales. The one-dish marvel is a peasant dish, tracing back to a 14th century siege during the Hundred Years’ war when peasants created a communal dish to provide sustenance to the soldiers who were fighting off invaders.
It is simple — consisting of beans, meat and herbs but its preparation can be complex. It is a labor of love and requires patience. It is the perfect dish for a much-loved family or for a new lover — a dish that is both simple yet elegant. The cassoulet is a perfect dish for February.
I did not know the complications of the cassoulet’s preparation at that time but I knew that the dish held magical powers. My mother loved the simple pork and white beans; my son loved the crunchy topping; and I loved the savory combination of herbs in the delightful rich and hearty dish. We all cleaned our plates and as we finished the meal with café au lait and a pear tarte tatin; we smiled warmly at each other with knowing love and contentment of family.
In that moment I realized that we were not all that different despite the language and cultural diversity. Food and family had joined us in an elementary way for we all need the basics: food, love and a sense of belonging. Like the ingredients in the cassoulet, we are joined by flavor and diversity.
Sometimes on rare and wonderful occasions we blend together in perfect harmony — a blend of family, food and love — and the effort that we must exert to maintain this balance is worth it. And like the preparation of a good cassoulet our hard work and efforts are rewarded in simple and profound ways. For no matter how far from our beautiful mountains we might roam, a connection with familiar food and moments of soft contentment with family will take us home again.
A “Slow Cooker Savvy” presentation to help inspire healthy crock-pot meals will be offered from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the Jackson County Senior Center Complex.
The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Jackson County is hosting the event, which will offer information on slow-cooker safety, tips for the best use of your slow cooker, and healthy, easy-to-prepare recipes. Participants will get to sample several dishes as well.
Cost is $5. 828.586.8562.
