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<p>Mike Melnyk | Submitted photo</p><p>Elizabeth LaPrelle performs during a concert at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, Va.</p>
Center shows off regional music flavor
There’s a certain kinship between the land and the musician. From the often sad, wistful tunes associated with the Celtic lands of Ireland and Scotland, to the simple yet profound tunes that speak of life and love and loss in the Blue Ridge Mountains, those forms of music are known for their musicians and the culture from which they arise. In this part of the world, bluegrass and old-time mountain music is often the soul of the land and i...
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<p>Buddy Jenkins and Grandson Tanner Jenkins proudly show fresh loose leaf lettuce grown in their greenhouse at their local farm. Jenkins produce will soon be sold to Pilot Mountain Pride so locals can eat &#8220;freshly pulled.&#8221;</p>
Farmers, buyers benefit from local effort
PILOT-MOUNTAIN —Dobson farmer Buddy Jenkins did not miss a beat when he heard of a way for the “little farmer to make a living” and do it with his family working beside him. Jenkins said he used to grow tobacco but stopped farming it after a couple of heart attacks slowed him down. He said he heard about the Pilot Mountain Pride Program and starting selling produce to them last year. Jenkins said since coming off the sidelines this time, ...
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<p>Keith Strange | The News</p><p>Surry County Cooperative Extension Service Director Bryan Cave (left) and Pilot Mountain Pride Director Lewis Draughn are pictured during last year&#8217;s marketing season as they looked over cases of vegetables that were ready to be delivered. In the event any problems are discovered, a unique numbering system allows center officials to track the vegetables back to the individual farmer &#8212; and even the field in which they were grown.</p>
Keeping the family farm alive
PILOT MOUNTAIN — Turn on the news these days and it isn’t uncommon to hear reports about the decline of the family farm, but through forethought and a lot of hard work, Surry County farmers have an option to market their products not available in other areas. Pilot Mountain Pride is a non-profit marketing center owned by the Surry County Economic Development Partnership that focuses on marketing locally-grown produce to both individuals and...
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<p>Photo submitted by Sobotta Manor</p><p>Seen here is the exterior of Sobotta Manor.<strong></strong></p><p>Seen here is one of the interior rooms at the Sobotta Manor.<strong> </strong></p>
Area businesses, organizations collaborate to draw visitors
This is not your old Mayberry any longer. Of course, Mount Airy and its many visitors always will revere and celebrate its beloved Andy Griffith and Opie and Barney Fife and Aunt Bea. The most common and often asked question of Visitor’s Center staff, said Visitor’s Center information specialist, is: How do we get to Andy Griffith’s house? But Mount Airy and the surrounding area is growing and expanding, adding more attractions and venu...
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<p>A winding path leads White Sulphur Springs&#8217; visitors along the 7.5 acre lawn, which borders the Ararat River.</p>
Historic White Sulphur Springs property takes on new life
If the large, old trees scattered across the lawn of White Sulphur Springs could talk, they would tell stories of travelers who once arrived by train, dressed in their finest attire, enjoying the pleasures of summer resort on the river: elaborate luncheons on the front lawn, live music from the symphony mixing with the sounds of the river, dance parties in the pavilion that went on into the early hours of the morning, groups of ladies and gen...
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<p>Submitted photo</p><p>A fleet of squad cars reminiscent of those seen on &#8220;The Andy Griffith Show&#8221; are available to take tourists on sightseeing tours of Mount Airy, aka. Mayberry.</p>
Tourism money has grown and projected to continue
Ten years ago, Surry County was 40th out of 100 North Carolina counties in expenditures of tourism dollars, said Jessica Icenhour Roberts. “It’s grown every year for the last 10 years,” Roberts said, “even during the recent recession years. Months have dipped down, but not a year as a whole.” And she should know. She is the director of tourism and marketing, as well as being a certified travel marketing professional at the Greater Mount...
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<p>David Broyles | The News</p><p>Dr. Diane Milhan talks with BizFest participants about acupuncture. Milhan has opened Mount Airy Community Acupuncture which allows patients to afford more beneficial treatments because payment is on a sliding scale.</p>
Western model of acupuncture re-imagined for community benefit
Mount Airy Community Acupuncture is part of a movement trying to re-image the 1,000-year old healing art of acupuncture from the exclusive spa price environment into everyday life. Dr. Diane Milhan is the acupuncturist for the new firm located on Lebanon Street. She said her goal in opening the practice is to provide affordable, accessible high quality acupuncture in a supportive setting with a sliding scale payment plan. “One of the firs...
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Market Street thrives as commercial mart
The following article about Market Street was printed in the March 30, 1951 edition of The Mount Airy News : Waltzing along Mount Airy’s ancient and venerable commercial mart, old Market Street, any Friday or Saturday afternoon when business is heavy and activity teems presents a compact sight of varied activity to the wayfarer from the Main Street drag. Market Street is still holding its own, and what it lacks in “big business,” the thoro...
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<p>Jessica Johnson | The News</p><p>Looking south on the Market Street of today it may be difficult to picture the bustling atmosphere that once was a daily part of the narrow street, once referred to as the &#8220;wholesale district&#8221; by area residents.</p>
Back to the future for Market Street
Market Street, located on the west side of downtown Mount Airy, is experiencing a revitalization as new stores open and area residents and business owners express hope that it will return to its days as a thriving extension of downtown. With the recent revitalization, it’s back to the future for Market Street, as promising new businesses open, giving residents and tourists a chance to pay tribute to days past, when Market Street was the mai...
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<p>Wendy Byerly Wood | The News</p><p>Penny Dalton, who has been a patient and gym member since ProHealth Center opened in 2001, watches television as she walks on the treadmill in the ProHealth Fitness Center.</p>
ProHealth provides medical, fitness services under one roof
Even in large cities it is unusual of to find a doctor’s office and a fitness center under the same roof, but more than 12 years ago, Dr. Nelson Gardner had an innovative, forward-thinking plan to do just that in Surry County. “Since starting the practice of medicine it was clear to me that to effectively promote one’s best health, the person must have access to the best preventative and primary care, along with the ability to exercise and ...
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<p>Keith Strange | The News</p><p>Sandra Hurley, general manager of <em>The Mount Airy News, </em>looks over a copy of the paper with Civitas Media Chief Manufacturing Officer Gary Lawrence. The pair say a new way of looking at news delivery has secured a prominent role in the company for the local operation.</p>
Changing the face of news
Drive through the employee parking lots of The Mount Airy News and one is likely to see license plates from Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and other surrounding states. If the paper has visitors from its parent company, Civitas Media, plates from Connecticut, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky may be present as well. It is indicative of a new paradigm in community news. While media reports of the state of the newspaper industry heral...
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<p>David Broyles | The News</p><p>Surry Community College Instructor Corey Easter shows job fair participants a precision milled metal part which was produced in the computerized lathe behind him. In response to demand for technicians for advanced manufacturing jobs, the college will soon be moving the program into a 6,000 square foot building on the Dobson campus.</p>
Advanced manufacturing technology bringing jobs back
DOBSON — Many parts of the ongoing re-imagining of jobs locally in advanced manufacturing has been predicted in previous years — as far back as the 1960s era cartoon The Jetsons. True, highly technical jobs on assembly lines these days are a little more than George Jetson pressing a single button but the sentiment was there. A part of this process at Surry Community College is being influenced with a national trend among businesses who ha...
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SouthData Inc. is now thriving in space once occupied by the Cross Creek Apparel textile company in Mount Airy.
Ex-industrial buildings getting new life in big way
Most local residents are aware of the wave of textile and other industry closings that have put about 10,000 people out of work since 2000, and how all the buildings are now sitting empty. While the closures and layoffs can’t be denied, the common belief of the structures just collecting dust and rotting away is wrong. In a lot of cases in which one can name a company in Mount Airy which has gone out of business, it can be offset by the k...
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<p>The coming of solar production to Mount Airy is providing a &#8220;green&#8221; benefit other than a sustainable source of electricity. Sheep, shown here at Ararat Rock Solar, also graze areas surrounding the panels.</p>
Outlook bright for solar farms in long term
Local solar development has been darkened recently by a cloud of rate and other uncertainties, but just as the sun can be counted on to shine again its long-term outlook is bright, industry insiders say. Already two solar farms have been opened in Surry County by O2Energies, a Charlotte-area company, with further plans temporarily on hold due to not having a firm cost established concerning what is paid for solar-generated electricity for t...
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<p>Surry Community College History Instructor Dr. Cory Stewart&#8217;s approach to history examined through the popular culture of the time seems a natural direction since he also chairs the school&#8217;s social science division. Stewart enjoys drawing from the expertise of a variety of disciplines to guide student inquiry.</p>
Professor: understanding history through culture is key
DOBSON — Surry Community College Social Science Division Chairman Dr. Cory Stewart prefers an examination of history from the bottom up, or through the prism of grass roots common experience. He makes the case history may repeat itself but not for the same reasons. “History repeats itself but it’s like an echo instead of repeating,” said Stewart. “Part of the answer lies in psychology, religion and folklore. History allows you to play with ...
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