July 4 Celebration
Over 100 neighbors with family and friends gathered at the clubhouse at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 4, for our annual celebration. We first had burgers and dogs from the grill with all the possibilities of adornment -- mustard, pickles, ketchup, cheese, onions, cucumbers. Thanks to Jim Sane for being our grill master. Everyone brought a side, so when the meat ran out--and, for the first time ever, we ran out of burgers and dogs before we ran out of people to serve, but we had baked beans, corn, slaw, watermelon, cataloupe, and cakes, cookies, and pies aplenty. Every seat was filled, and we spilled out to the patio with our seasonal umbrellas on each picnic table. We also had kids who quickly bonded and ran from the commons area on Chestnut Hills to the clubhouse and back again.
Barbara Earnhardt offered an invocation about the importance of taking care of the place we live. It is attached here -- in case you missed it:
To the Holy Spirit of these Mountains and of our World,
We come together, under this sky and on these 450 million-year-old rocks,
To pay tribute to a way of life made possible
By the clear water that somehow miraculously keeps flowing
Down this mountain into our houses.
May we be reminded today, if we have not thought of this before
That many generations before us kept careful watch
Over these resources,
That it has been their sometimes painstaking stewardship
Of gentle souls of women and men that makes it possible
For us to live here.
May what we say and do here honor their spirits, this sky,
These rocks, this water.
And may the Holy Spirit of the Creator be well pleased, and say
“Good job!”
To the Holy Spirit of these Mountains and of our World,
We come together, under this sky and on these 450 million-year-old rocks,
To pay tribute to a way of life made possible
By the clear water that somehow miraculously keeps flowing
Down this mountain into our houses.
May we be reminded today, if we have not thought of this before
That many generations before us kept careful watch
Over these resources,
That it has been their sometimes painstaking stewardship
Of gentle souls of women and men that makes it possible
For us to live here.
May what we say and do here honor their spirits, this sky,
These rocks, this water.
And may the Holy Spirit of the Creator be well pleased, and say
“Good job!”
We played BINGO until dark-- and winners got to choose a big candy bar. On the back, covered over with duct tape was an amount of money from $5 to $2 to golden $1 coins to 50 cents all the way down to 5 cents!
And finally, when the evening pushed near to 9 p.m. and all the candy was claimed. We headed outside for our fireworks extravaganza. Thanks to Jason Moore, who once again, organized the show, which lasted until about 10 p.m. People came and went and came back again. And we look forward to seeing everyone same time next year. Gerton really understands community--and our July 4 evening is a declaration of it!
Bonnie Moore and family enjoy July 4 dinner on the patio before Bingo began.
Neighbors get re-acquainted at our cook-out.
Only one way to watch the fireworks on July 4.
The ECHO is published bi-monthly throughout the year by the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Club. You can access the online blog at: www.gertonecho.blogspot.com or pick up a paper copy at the Gerton Post Office. News is always welcome; pictures, too. Please send to editor Margaret Whitt at mwhitt@du.edu. Photographers this issue: Sylvia Sane, Shirley Boone, Faith Roberts, Ben French, Sam Earnhardt, Gloria Anders, Karen Hudson-Brown.
Officers for 2015-1016: President Margaret Whitt; Vice President Lynn Morehead; Summer Secretary Lana Roberts; Winter Secretary Sarah Gayle; Treasurer Sylvia Sane. Board members: Jean Bradley, Patty Tanner, Mac McAdams, Jim Earnhardt. Immediate Past President Jim Sane.
Calendar of Events
September 3, Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. GERTONFEST VIII. EVENTS:
8 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Community Breakfast - pancakes and sausage. $4 adult; $3 under 12
8 a.m. until all sold - Homemade Baked Goods - cakes, pies, candy, brownies, cookies
8 a.m. - Silent Auction Begins; Prizes awarded at 6 p.m.
1 p.m. - Jig Saw Puzzle Races
1 p.m. - Trivia Bowl
3 p.m. - Team Spelling Bee (1 to 4 people on a team) $10 to enter; winner takes $50
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. - Bob Stepp and Friends (Live Music)
5:30 p.m. - BBQ Pork and Chicken. Eat in or Take out; $8 adult; $6 under 12
8 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Community Breakfast - pancakes and sausage. $4 adult; $3 under 12
8 a.m. until all sold - Homemade Baked Goods - cakes, pies, candy, brownies, cookies
8 a.m. - Silent Auction Begins; Prizes awarded at 6 p.m.
1 p.m. - Jig Saw Puzzle Races
1 p.m. - Trivia Bowl
3 p.m. - Team Spelling Bee (1 to 4 people on a team) $10 to enter; winner takes $50
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. - Bob Stepp and Friends (Live Music)
5:30 p.m. - BBQ Pork and Chicken. Eat in or Take out; $8 adult; $6 under 12
September 20, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. Community Covered Dish. Program: Kehren Barbour. (see related story below)
October 18, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. Community Covered Dish. Program: Jami Linn: What to do if you have a cancer diagnosis
President's Note
We missed having our annual play this summer, but we hope the event will return next summer, last weekend in July, as is our tradition. We were able to host a delightful evening in August with Becky and Pat Stone telling stories and singing (see story below).
Our biggest fundraiser of the year: GertonFest VIII will be help Labor Day weekend, September 3. We hope you will turn out for a day of activities that celebrates small town living. From breakfast to dinner, something will be going on in the clubhouse. Make plans to drop by for an event or two--or plan to spend the day.
A call went out to bring school supplies and that you did! We were able to give over 100 pounds of supplies to the Hickory Nut Outreach for them to pass along to those who can use the help. As all of us are aware, these supplies do cost and when more than one child is in the family, the task can become a burden. It is easy when we come together to help each other. We have had a good year of giving food to the food bank as well. When you come to our monthly dinners, remember to bring a few items for our neighbors who might eat better because they had a helping hand.
I look forward to seeing you soon at GertonFest VIII. And thanks for always saying YES to our collective activities.
Margaret Whitt
Summer Litter Sweep
Early on the morning of Tuesday, July 5, eleven people showed up to pick up trash from the county line toward Asheville all the way to the campground close to Bat Cave. Gloria Anders was the organizing force, coordinated with the Department of Transportation and the Adopt-a-Highway program, and made calls for volunteers. Jim Sane arrived early and put out the new signs we have that say "Litter Sweep in Progress." We have enough orange vests for all who want to help--and we had plenty of orange bags and blue bags for trash that can be recycled. Those who helped with the task included Jim Sane, Billy Gaines, Jean Bradley, J.W Davis, Sylvia Sane, Karl Bradley, Gayle Morris, Gloria Anders, Margaret Whitt, Stan Mobley, and Mike Hamlin. Lana Roberts and David Scoggins also showed up to help, not being aware that we had made a change in the posted time.
Our total count was 9 orange bags and 9 blue bags, one fancy hub cap. The trash included the usual number of beer and soda pop cans--and a good number of cigarette detritus -- butts, empty packs, and other wrappings. The DOT comes by and picks up the results and the bags are taken to wherever it is our roadside trash goes! Thanks to all those who helped. Many hands make fairly quick work!
Follow-up on Speed Limit in Gerton: Letter from Major Frank Stout to Henderson Country Sheriff
Sheriff,
I wanted to give you some follow-up information concerning my outreach to Mr. Scott Cook, District Engineer of Traffic for Division 14 (NCDOT) out of Sylva, NC. Scott called me today and relayed the following information.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation conducted a traffic count on the US 74 in the Gerton community of Henderson County from 29 June 2016 through 6 July 2016.
The average daily traffic count during this period was 2,200 to 2,300 vehicles at two different locations where traffic was monitored and speeds measured. The total volume of traffic measured for this time period was approximately 15,500 vehicles. Their traffic study showed that the traffic in the 35 mile per hour posted speed zone averaged approximately 33 miles per hour. This speed limit is in a more curvy section of the highway. The other location that was monitored was in a 40 mile per hour speed zone near the Fire Department in Gerton and the average speed of traffic in that area was 48 miles per hour. There is an 8/10 of a mile section of this roadway that has a 40 miles per hour posted speed limit. It does include the straightaway in front of the fire department.
Mr. Cook informed me the North Carolina Department of Transportation, based upon this information, will be reducing the speed limit in that area to 35 miles per hour. This will be consistent with the 35 mile per hour speed limit already in place in Buncombe County and will be consistent with their desire to respond to the citizen’s request for a reduction in speed through their affected area based upon the collected data. Mr. Cook personally oversaw the traffic monitoring and told me that it will take a short period of time before the new ordinance for a highway speed limit change can be brought before the governing board but the wheels are in motion for a reduction in the speed limit in the Gerton area.
Respectfully,
Frank
Major Frank T. Stout
Support Services/PIO
Henderson County Sheriff's Office
Because of a motorcycle accident on Saturday, July 23, the helicopter was called to take the wounded to the hospital. We are fortunate to have the helipad, but sorry we sometimes have a need to use it!
A request went out to bring school supplies to our August meeting -- and that request was answered in plenty! UHNGCC took 117 pounds of school supplies to the Hickory Nut Outreach for their dissemination. This reporting of pounds includes a lot of crayons, pencils, backpacks, paper, pens, glue sticks, etc. Thanks to all who read the e-mail and showed up with school supplies.
And we took another almost 50 pounds of food! Remember to bring food for the gorge food bank to every dinner we have together!
The view from the top of Bearwallow Mountain.
July Program
After 45 neighbors gathered for a bountiful feast on July 19, we played a game called "Connections." Here are some of the things we learned about each other:
- Ted Roberts and Dave Scoggins both served in Vietnam
- Virginia McGuffey and Jean Bradley have both traveled to the Holy Land.
- Danya Salos traveled with her high school volleyball team from East Asheville to Mississippi for the regional tournament--only to be beat by Fairview!
- Geneva Matteis has traveled to Aukland, New Zealand
- Addie Grindle is capable of folding her ear lobe into her ear! (this from secret talents)
In response to the question: If you did not have to consider your neighbors, what color would you paint your house? For obvious reasons, we won't name them, but the most popular color was Purple, followed by Red.
And we took another almost 50 pounds of food! Remember to bring food for the gorge food bank to every dinner we have together!
August Program
Peter Barr of Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy (CMLC) spoke on the Upper Hickory Nut Trail System, after 53 neighbors enjoyed another good meal. In the past two decades, the CMLC has become responsible for an additional 30,000 acres of land. Trails have been completed in the Florence Nature Preserve (former Gerton neighbors who gave 600 acres of their land), up Bearwallow Mountain, and Little Bearwallow Mountain along the Tennessee Ridge (another name for the Continental Divide). Future trails will include at least three more routes, connecting a number of the now existing trails together.
Peter spoke about a plan to get a new trailhead and parking spaces available at Bearwallow Mountain, and he also provided an opportunity to sign up to help build the trails. Check their web site for further information and maps of what is going on: www.carolinamountain.org
Stones Entertain
Southern Tales and Tunes
Becky and Pat Stone came to UHNGCC on the night of Saturday, August 20, for an evening of story and song. Becky's stories were from the stockpile of Joel Chandler Harris; she selected several Br'er Rabbit tales that depicted him outsmarting his fellow creatures. Pat told several Jack tales, once again about how the lesser fellow in the mix outsmarts those with seemingly more power. The most stirring tale was one from Becky about the flood of 1916, focusing on a tree that proved to be the life saver of one woman who clung to it for more than eight hours. The maple tree still stands tall on the Biltmore Estate. Both Becky and Pat sang, accompanying themselves on the mandola and the guitar (as seen below).
All who made it to the clubhouse enjoyed the evening.
September Program
Kehren Barbour will be our presenter at dinner on September 20. Below is an article about Kehren's art. Perhaps many/all of you have noticed the pianos that line the roadside just south of the community club. The article will help to explain what the pianos are doing there and will prepare you to enjoy Kehren's presentation to us.
Recompositions
by Joanne O'Sullivan Reprinted from WNC Magazine
By the time a piano is played for the first time, hundreds of hours have gone into its construction by skilled artisans. If it is well-loved, the musicians who coax music from it will spend hundreds—if not thousands—of hours lingering over the keys, getting to know its particular qualities. But when the instrument is broken or damaged beyond repair, what happens to this object that has had such a storied life? Asheville artists Kehren Barbour and Michael Luchtan are creating new compositions with retired, abandoned pianos in their Gerton studio.
A painter with a professional background in set design, Barbour says she found herself asking big questions about the impact of human actions and consumerism on the environment. She moved from San Francisco to Boone to pursue a masters degree in sustainable development and Appalachian studies at Appalachian State University, moving to Asheville in 2013 and meeting her husband Michael Luchtan, a mathematician, composer, and music teacher. A friend who knew of their interests connected them with their first retired piano, which they decided to use as a material for exploring the idea of sustainability through art and music, and the Post Piano Project was born. The couple rented a former produce stand on Highway 74 in Henderson County to use as a workshop, dubbing it the Aeolian Harp Research Station. There, alongside the music of the creek and the sweep of the wind through Hickory Nut Gorge, the two create works of art with instruments that were destined for landfills.
When they receive a decommissioned piano (they’ve gotten donations from Piano Emporium of Weaverville and other sources), “We document the piano and record what will be its last tune,” Barbour explains. “Sometimes somber, sometimes up-beat, we record a song as an act of requiem for the piano and its played life, and for the blessings of the artworks that will come from it.”
Then, a lengthy deconstruction process begins by weathering the instruments outside. “Glues that are used to hold a piano together are of a very high quality, and harnessing the forces of nature can be most efficient way to disassemble some of the pieces,” Barbour says, and it can take more than a year of weathering to prep a piano for “harvesting” its parts.
Once a piano is disassembled, Barbour uses each of the elements in different ways. The assemblages of her Tone Poems series (named after Strauss’ tone poems) are three-dimensional works consisting of anything from the wooden part of a piano body to the hammers that strike the inner cords when a key is played. Her collages are three-dimensional, too, but are composed of strips of veneer harvested from the decaying pianos. Weathering gives each strip distinctive tones and textures. While these two types of work are meant to become part of an art or music lover’s personal collection, Barbour’s installation pieces (she’s created four so far) invite interaction.
“The piano has so many voices—it exists in the realm of the fine and the folk, a place of fusion where its tone is an interpretation of the person playing it,” Barbour says. “I appreciate its versatility and I strive for something similar in my works.”
At the 2014 and 2015 ReHappening events paying homage to Black Mountain College, Barbour and Luchtan set up several of their installation pieces in the room where John Cage had worked on his famed composition 4'33". Consisting of the harps and soundboards from salvaged pianos, these new instruments collect vibrations from their environment by being played or even interacting with the wind.
So far, Barbour and Luchtan have dissembled 37 pianos, removing 20,000 pounds of materials from the waste steam and turning them into art. Equally important, Barbour says, are the conversations the artists have had as a result of the project—about music, art, and the way they can impact our overburdened planet.
A painter with a professional background in set design, Barbour says she found herself asking big questions about the impact of human actions and consumerism on the environment. She moved from San Francisco to Boone to pursue a masters degree in sustainable development and Appalachian studies at Appalachian State University, moving to Asheville in 2013 and meeting her husband Michael Luchtan, a mathematician, composer, and music teacher. A friend who knew of their interests connected them with their first retired piano, which they decided to use as a material for exploring the idea of sustainability through art and music, and the Post Piano Project was born. The couple rented a former produce stand on Highway 74 in Henderson County to use as a workshop, dubbing it the Aeolian Harp Research Station. There, alongside the music of the creek and the sweep of the wind through Hickory Nut Gorge, the two create works of art with instruments that were destined for landfills.
When they receive a decommissioned piano (they’ve gotten donations from Piano Emporium of Weaverville and other sources), “We document the piano and record what will be its last tune,” Barbour explains. “Sometimes somber, sometimes up-beat, we record a song as an act of requiem for the piano and its played life, and for the blessings of the artworks that will come from it.”
Then, a lengthy deconstruction process begins by weathering the instruments outside. “Glues that are used to hold a piano together are of a very high quality, and harnessing the forces of nature can be most efficient way to disassemble some of the pieces,” Barbour says, and it can take more than a year of weathering to prep a piano for “harvesting” its parts.
Once a piano is disassembled, Barbour uses each of the elements in different ways. The assemblages of her Tone Poems series (named after Strauss’ tone poems) are three-dimensional works consisting of anything from the wooden part of a piano body to the hammers that strike the inner cords when a key is played. Her collages are three-dimensional, too, but are composed of strips of veneer harvested from the decaying pianos. Weathering gives each strip distinctive tones and textures. While these two types of work are meant to become part of an art or music lover’s personal collection, Barbour’s installation pieces (she’s created four so far) invite interaction.
“The piano has so many voices—it exists in the realm of the fine and the folk, a place of fusion where its tone is an interpretation of the person playing it,” Barbour says. “I appreciate its versatility and I strive for something similar in my works.”
At the 2014 and 2015 ReHappening events paying homage to Black Mountain College, Barbour and Luchtan set up several of their installation pieces in the room where John Cage had worked on his famed composition 4'33". Consisting of the harps and soundboards from salvaged pianos, these new instruments collect vibrations from their environment by being played or even interacting with the wind.
So far, Barbour and Luchtan have dissembled 37 pianos, removing 20,000 pounds of materials from the waste steam and turning them into art. Equally important, Barbour says, are the conversations the artists have had as a result of the project—about music, art, and the way they can impact our overburdened planet.
On a summer afternoon amidst a crop in Edneyville, surprises await!
Notes from Our Little Free Library
from April 2016 - Brought my mom to Chimney Rock for her 51st Birthday. Have seen these little libraries online. This is the first one I have seen in person! Dallas, NC
from June 2016 - We love books -- thanks for this lovely surprise. On vacation five hours from home.
Smithfield, NC
from June 2016 - with love from Mississippi
I never believed that I would ever see such a wonderful thing like this in person. I'm so thankful and delighted I got to. St. Petersburg, FL
from July 2016 - Love the Little Free Library. I'm from Dallas, NC and I'm a Book Lover. Tried using a Kindle but nothing compares to holding a Book and reading. Thanks for sharing.
from July 2016 - Looking for a book by the fire tonight. Thanks.
Rock Hill, SC
from Winter Park, FL. Staying on Chestnut Hill.
from August, 2016 - I just moved to Asheville from Connecticut. This is the second LFL I've seen. Add some poetry?
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