CEDAR MOUNTAIN NEWS FOR 2-29-24
HAPPY LEAP DAY EVERYONE
SPRING FORWARD
Daylight saving time starts at 2 am on Sunday, March 10th. Move your clocks to spring forward one hour and lose an hour of sleep. Clocks "fall back" on Nov. 3 and you get to “sleep in” an hour.
CEDAR MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY CENTER EVENTS
POTLUCKS
CMCC first potluck of the season will be Monday, April 8. Connie Meré of the Cradle of Forestry and the Vanderbilt family will give a presentation. Please have dishes to share on the serving tables by 6:15 pm. Everyone is welcome.
Looking ahead to September 10th the potluck program with feature the Hemlock Restoration Initiative. The objective of the Hemlock Restoration Initiative (HRI) is to restore eastern and Carolina Hemlock trees to their native habitats throughout North Carolina and to mitigate damage to Hemlocks caused by the infestation of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) which has devastated the Hemlock forests.
FIRESIDE CHATS at the COMMUNITY CENTER
3/27/24 2 PM Al Brothers Dark skies & lights
4/24/24 2 PM Yvonne Dixson - The Walton War
5/22/24 2 pm Susan Garrett Community Centers: worth and history
6/26/24 2 PM Please join us on Saturday, June 26th at 2 p.m., for a program about the History of the Cedar Mountain Curb Market, Family Farms, and the Home Demonstration Club presented by Beth Owings and Patty Stahl. They plan to serve baked goods made from recipes of the ladies at the Curb Market and show photos of the Market, family farms, and Home Demonstration activities.
AL BROTHERS VITAE
On May 26, 1941, James Alvin Brothers Jr. was delivered by nuns at St. Francis Hospital in Greenville SC. This date coincided with the sinking of the Bismarck, the birthday of Bob Dylan, and as the family’s third child, the reduction of my father's draft status.
A different convent of nuns educated me at St. Mary’s School whence I was unprepared for the different education offered to teens at Greenville Senior High. I went on to the University of South Carolina in Columbia and also joined the US Marines, both of which were valuable learning experiences. I eventually took a degree from the University School of Business and a degree in exploding things from the Marine Corps. I also took my wife, one of Columbia’s finest magnolias with me to Charleston to enter the North Carolina banking world.
On to Lumberton, NC where Susan and I set up house and took on the job of State Marketing Director for another bank. That was when a friend gave me a brochure about the NC State University School of Design in Raleigh. That’s all it took. I earned a master's degree in industrial design then joined the Extension Service faculty and served there for seven years. The land grant system allowed me to access much of the State and the dynamic changes that were about to affect the once-rural South.
In 1980 I left the University, started my design firm, and contracted with The Tennessee Valley Authority to Design their Knoxville World's Fair River barges. The firm of A Brothers Associates enjoyed being part of the technical and commercial growth that developed during the following three decades.
For me, projects on environment, energy, and growth were the areas that I attended to most. Moving in and out of Raleigh to various sites and eventually to our place in the mountains, I realized the strong contrast between urban growth and the coming rural development. I was surprised to discover that there are environmental predictors of urban expansion. The most dramatic predictor is the disappearance of the Milky Way. In this unique rainforest, clouds rise from wet valleys. Lights from distant cities bounce off the moist atmosphere to produce a “sky glow”. The glow serves to obliterate our view of the night skies.
There’s an organization that is documenting the five percent yearly increase in global light pollution. More troubling are findings that the lack of a darkness cycle affects the health of flora and fauna up and down the chain of life. I hope our upcoming visit will “shine a light” on how our own community is being impacted by the coming expansion of light pollution. We also have a bag of tricks that can help us balance our light needs against the potential loss of our unique Blue Ghost fireflies. Al Brothers
CEDAR MOUNTAIN CANTEEN
Please join us at The Canteen on Saturday, March 9 at 2:00 pm for the gallery opening of
Casey Girard and Birding Talk by Casey Girard and Michael Plauche. Casey and
Michael will be discussing birding in our area and the migratory birds that will be arriving in March.
Mark your calendars for this exciting pairing. Casey Girard is a local artist, illustrator, naturalist, and educator. Casey is also a founding member of the Feminist Bird Club of Asheville/Western NC. Casey will be displaying and selling a collection of her bird paintings, many of them painted on leaves she has collected on her hikes, as well as notecards, and prints.
Michael Plauche is a Brevard local who has a passion for birding. He spends time birding daily and volunteers with many bird projects. Michael compiles the Transylvania County Spring Bird Count, and the Brevard Christmas Bird Count, and regularly leads walks with the Transylvania County Bird Club.
CHRISTINE’S CORNER by Christine Pace
The weather has been beautiful this month! Look out for March though, as it’ll be the busiest month so far this year; St. Patrick’s Day is Sunday, March 17th, then an early Easter on Sunday, March 31st. Hope the good weather holds.
Even though the weather has risen into the 50’s & 60’s most days this month many mornings start in the 30’s or 40’s. Maybe that’s why so many folks have colds. I had one almost 2 weeks ago; my first cold in over 3 years! My church is passing it around, ha-ha. It’s everywhere though; my doctor says it’s “highly contagious”. But it’s “just” a cold. Not the flu, and not Covid, thank goodness! Makes me want some of that delicious tomato bisque soup that Creekside has now & then.
Speaking of “Creekside”, Creekside Subs in Brevard is closing its doors soon. So, our Creekside Market & Back Porch (grill) will be the only Creekside in the area.
Did you feel the earthquake off Island Ford Road last Sunday, February 18th at 6:36 am? It was 1.8 on the Richter scale. I’ve not talked to anyone yet who did feel it. Wasn’t it Carole King who sang “I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet” back in 1971?
Praying you have a great Sadie Hawkins’s Day (today - Thursday, Feb. 29th)! And a super March.
AROUND THE HOUSE by Linda Packer Young
We are great grandparents again for the 4th time. Little Charles was born on 2-17-24 and has been in the NICU with Covid already with Covid. His mom says he’s doing well now. We get to see him on the 4th of July. A fifth great-grand is expected in April so we will see him then too.
I’m sure others our age are being plagued by so-called Medicare calls. It has gotten so bad we got new phones where you can press CALL BLOCK and away it goes. There is even a satisfying swoosh sound as it goes bye-bye. They even hang up as soon as I say “We have call block”. The only problem is these nuisances have a million phone numbers they use which includes private numbers from people who don’t know their numbers are being used. I don’t know how they do that but a lady called me one day saying she got a call from me. She didn’t but somebody was apparently using our number.
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The deadline for the CM News is Monday evening or early Tuesday morning unless otherwise notified. Your news and announcements are most welcome, and we want to see more of it.
