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Features

  • Celebrating Mother's Day:...

    When Mother’s Day rolls around, I remember my childhood attempts at crayoned cards loaded with hearts and promises of wondrous behavior. As the years passed, I graduated, if that is what is was, to commercially produced sentiments embellished with additional memories of my mom’s nurturing presence. Sometimes, the cards were replete with Victorian laciness. Sometimes, they were rife with modern comedy. Always, they were heartfelt.

  • Foster care teens enjoy dancing,...

    Teenagers living in foster care enjoyed a catered dinner and music with a deejay to celebrate the end of their spring break in Brunswick County.

    In between dancing and singing, the teens were educated on the benefits of the SAYSO (Strong Able Youth Speaking Out) program by Jean Harwell, program manager for Mentors 4 K.I.D.S. They met with Jamie Orrock, director of Brunswick County DSS, as well as the president of the WAVES 4 K.I.D.S. Board of Directors, Kay Wolf, and other prospective mentors.

  • Garden musings: Enoying the fun of...

    One of the wonderful things about having a garden is the opportunity to watch things grow. Of course, if you’re in the business of giving out horticultural advice, it’s also a great way to learn. I’ve always felt better about giving out recommendations based on local experience, so here are some musings about some plants that I’ve added to my own garden this year.

  • Treated lumber use in the garden:...

    It is that time of year when people start putting in vegetable plants and suddenly they want to know if it is all right to plant them in a bed framed with treated lumber. Agents across the state have been e-mailing their thoughts and experiences. We have even contacted our resource people and they provide to us valuable back up assistance. Here are some interesting points I have gleaned from the discussion on how and where to use treated wood and which plants are okay to grow in systems containing treated wood.

  • Understanding more about swine...

    Swine influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans; however, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs.

  • Gardening in the shade can be...

    Gardeners are often unhappy about how their grass and other plants look in a shady area, especially under trees. People can spend a lot of money, time and effort trying to make sun-loving plants grow in shady areas. If you have a situation where shade is stressing the sun-loving grass of other plants, consider choosing plants that will thrive in a shady location.

    Gardening in the shade can and should be just as enjoyable and successful as gardening in the sun. When proper plants are selected for shady areas, the results can be beautiful and long lasting.

  • Brunswick County residents visit...

    A team of 30 men and women from Holden Beach, other parts of North Carolina, Florida, Baltimore, and Virginia recently journeyed to the remote areas of Leon, Nicaragua, to do mission work to help those less fortunate.

    The team came from all walks of life, different professions, ages, special talents, and the desire to give of themselves, coming together with a common goal.

  •
    Veterans' day at the pier

    Calabash Elks Lodge No. 2679 veterans affairs committee once again treated veterans and residents from area extended care facilities to a morning on the Sunset Beach Fishing Pier, followed by lunch prepared by the Elks Lodge. The annual outing took place April 30.

     

  •
    New work featured at Franklin...

    Whether it’s forming pottery or painting en plein air, the pleasure is in the process for this month’s featured artists at Franklin Square Gallery’s new Members Show.

    Both draw from their careers and their backgrounds in their individual approaches to creating art.

    Carla Edstrom is a former paramedic, and that career path led to her unique approach in shaping her pottery.

    Ann Lees’ fascination with gardening and nature brought her to the oil painting technique called en plein air, a French term for painting “in the open air.”

  •
    Strawberries are ripe for the...

    It’s strawberry time again.

    The fields at Indigo Farms, Holden Brothers Produce and a new grower—Waccamaw River Farm & Nursery in Ash—are laden with sweet, red, juicy berries ready for picking and buying and converting into all kinds of delicious recipes.

    You can either pick strawberries yourself or buy them already picked. (Just take your pick.)

    At Indigo Farms on Highway 57, strawberries have been ripe for picking since mid-April and should be available until the first week in June.

  •
    In bloom

    Yes, spring has sprung.

    You can tell the minute you enter the Brunswick County Government Complex in Bolivia, where fragrant, beautiful-but-bossy wisteria is conducting its annual April takeover of a towering pine tree, draping it in spring lavender.

    Just around the bend, pink tulips greet visitors venturing into Brunswick Botanical Gardens, where bees buzz amid the first flowers of spring and a waterfall and stream gurgle.

  • Bass-Mason

    Hollie Alicia Bass of Supply and Kyle Edward Mason of Clemmons were married March 28 at Shallotte Presbyterian Church.

    The bride’s uncle, the Rev. Paul Hill, associate pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Statesville, officiated the ceremony.

    The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Bass of Supply.

    The groom is the son of Janet Mason of Clemmons and Edward Mason of Clemmons.

    The bride was given in marriage by her parents and escorted by her father.

  • Klein-Beaube

    Announcement is made of the forthcoming marriage of Lucy Agnes Klein of Charlotte and Frederick Jakob Beaube of Charlotte. The bride-elect is the daughter of Jim and Marilyn Klein of Wilmington. The prospective groom is the son of Davis and Barbara Beaube of Bolivia. A July 18 wedding is planned at St. Mark’s Church in Wilmington.

  • Hickman-Grimm

    Announcement is made of the forthcoming marriage of Jennifer Lynn Hickman of Shallotte and Christopher Ray Grimm of New Martinsville, W.Va. The bride-elect is the daughter of Rhonda Wooten and stepdaughter of Edgar Wooten of Supply. She is a graduate of West Brunswick High School, UNC Wilmington and Webster University. The prospective groom is the son of Tawney Sizemore and Steve Grimm, both of New Martinsville, W.Va. He is a graduate of Magnolia High School and Western School of Health and Business. The wedding is planned for May 2 along the Intracoastal Waterway on Holden Beach.

  • Sullivans celebrate 58 years

    Lloyd and Frances Sullivan of Shallotte celebrate 58 years of marriage April 23 at John and Brenda Sullivan’s house in Supply surrounded by family. They were married in 1951 and raised three sons.

  • Carroll-Pippin

    Announcement is made of the forthcoming marriage of Andrea Jean Caroll of Riegelwood and Sterling Bryan Pippin of Farmville. The bride-elect is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles ‘Chip‘ Leo Carroll of Riegelwood. The prospective groom is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Richard Lee Pippin of Farmville. A June 6 wedding is planned at the Kelly House.

  • Once we sang and danced: Two-day...

    With curiosity and a tiny bit of trepidation, we walked into the fellowship hall of King of Glory Lutheran Church. A two-day workshop had been planned with nationally known speakers Marty Haugen and Susan Briehl, but none of us knew the specific content.

    The weather was glorious. Were we ready to sacrifice outdoor activities for indoor enlightenment? What if the message became too disconcerting, too challenging? What if it was just a repetition of all that we already knew and practiced? What were we to expect?

  • Hewett-McCumbee

    Announcement is made of the forthcoming marriage of Stacey Ann Hewett of Shallotte and Jordan Scott McCumbee of Ash. The bride-elect is the daughter of Ed and Debbie Lemon of Shallotte and Jimmy and Pam Hewett of Ocean Isle Beach. The prospective groom is the son of Dewayne and Marian McCumbee of Ash. A Sept. 5 wedding is planned at Premier Resorts at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

  • A garden can never have enough...

    Dedicated readers of my ramblings know I have a soft spot for crape myrtles and Japanese maples. Even though my garden is so small you can’t cuss a cat without getting hair in your mouth, it now sports 11 different selections of Japanese maple.

  • Tips for growing great tomatoes in...

    When buying tomato seedlings, look for thick, straight stems, deep green leaves, avoid plants that have already started flowering or fruiting with no spots or signs of insects and look for a disease resistant variety.