TABLE OF
CONTENTS

THE GRAPEVINE '03

IMPORTANT
INFORMATION

08/17/03
The final performance of Old Colony Players' "From This Day Forward" took place Saturday, bringing a close to their 36th consecutive season. This makes our outdoor drama the fourth oldest in the nation. Despite the wet summer, only one performance (the night of the Festival) was rained out. Knolan Benfield, manager for OCP noted that though attendance was down, we were performing better than most outdoor dramas in the state.

The Waldensian Festival seemed to be a success with cooler-than-normal temperatures keeping people longer and creating larger crowds in the afternoon than usual. I don't know about the vendor sales, but you can't complain about the attendance. There were some empty booth spaces, but that has apparently been the case at a number of festivals this year. Either there are more festivals, diluting the vendors, or vendors are finding other outlets for their goods. The race results are now ready and I will pick them up later today. Hopefully I can get them all entered in tonight.

08/04/03
As of yesterday, just over 150 of the 175 or so booth spaces for the Waldensian Festival had been sold meaning either people are watching the weather and waiting until the last minute to decide whether to attend or are making other plans this year. Applications have been coming in steadily this week so hopefully it will be filled by the weekend.

At the Town Council meeting last night, it was noted by Town Manager Jeff Morse, that the State has committed to major renovations/upgrades of Main Street. Besides the resurfacing, they also plan to widen it in places and somehow add turn lanes. The stoplights will also be updated to a "loop system" which I assume will better allow driving from one end to the other without catching a light if you drive at the speed limit.

September 1st is the scheduled date for work on the mural to begin. The wall must be prepared first, which could take up to two weeks. Work on the park will continue while the mural is being painted.

The Valdese Rotary Club has chosen its centennial project, creation of a mini-park above the tennis courts at the Community Center. Plans for the "parklet" include a shelter, some small rides, and a grill for cookouts.

The Valdese Recreation Department held a mixed doubles tennis tournament over the weekend with rotating partners, the winners were determined by total number of games won in Best 4 of 7 matches. The winners, whose names I don't have at the time, won a gift certificate for Butch's BBQ.

07/29/03
Construction of the Main Street Park is under way with the preliminary grading having taken place. Plans for the mural are being finalized and work on preparing the wall should begin soon. I'm going to try to get a picture of the proposed park and mural and post it here soon.

In case you've looked at this site or some other sources for Festival information, you need to be aware of one misprint that has since been corrected. The Friday evening concert will be Harry Deal and the Galaxies and MusicSmythe and not Slight Departure as was previously reported.

Martha Mauney will be selling some notecards with various Valdese historic attractions on the front. She currently has the Winery, Museum, and Clock Tower sketched and hopes to have some available by the Festival. The next set of three cards will likely include some of the following: the Trail of Faith, McGalliard Falls, the Presbyterian Church, and the Meytre Grist Mill. Hopefully a total of ten cards will eventually become available. Prints of each attraction are a future possibility depending on whether they can be produced cheaply enough to sell at a reasonable price.

If anyone is interested in moving to Pine Mountain Estates, e-mail me and I'll put you in touch with a friend who is looking to sell their house down there.

07/17/03
Mark your calendar for Saturday, July 26th when Richard Owens, owner of Burke Audio/Video, will be hosting an antique radio swap meet at McGalliard Falls park. The event is sponsored by the Antique Wireless Association and will run from 8:00 am until noon.

An effort is being made to step up our association with our Italian Sister City--Torre Pellice. Parks Sherrill had been a big part of this program but after his death it lost some of its momentum. Now

Old Colony Players' one-act plays, "By The Time The Cock Crows" and "They Won't Hang A Woman," begin tonight at the amphitheater. Each apparently runs under an hour and will be every Thursday night through Drama season.

This year's Festival Guide will be printed as an insert in Voice of the Foothills, the relatively new newsletter that can be found in grocery stores, restaurants and other locations throughout the area. Look for it late July or early August.

It looks as if another restaurant may be coming to town. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell who it is since it was told to me in confidence (though word may already be out.) I will say that it overlaps existing restaurants so it's not the KFC/Taco Bell we had heard rumors of previously. I can also say that it technically would lie outside Valdese but will be requesting annexation at the next Town Council meeting.

07/10/03
Main Street was packed during last Friday's fireworks show and many felt it was the most impressive yet. The show ran about twenty minutes from the football field behind the Old Rock School. A number of cars decided to join in the fun and sound their alarms, beginning with the first boom.

Work is slowly beginning on modifying exit #111 off interstate 40. Eventually, I believe the on and off-ramps will be the traditional up and down types with no doughnuts and 65-20mph braking necessary.

There is apparently a church going into part of the building across from Myra's. The denomination will be The Church of God which is apparently different than the Valdese Church of God.

I've spoken with Chuck Moseley about the idea of reissuing the Valdese license plates with the new Visit Valdese diamond logo in the center instead of the centennial logo which really only applied to that one year.

The Waldensian Presbyterian Church has finally found it's new minister. His name is Rev. Roger Weir and will be coming from Warsaw, Indiana. His first service will be the Sunday after the Festival, August 10th, two years to the day from Dr. Aydelotte's first service as interim minister.

Speaking of the Festival, since booth applications are down this year there may still be time for you to reserve a space. Contact the Community Affairs Department at (828) 879-2129 or cmoseley@ci.valdese.nc.us for details.

07/02/03
The Monday evening Town Council meeting was a marathon session that lasted nearly 2½ hours with a large part going toward budget discussions. There were, however, a few issues discussed that might be of interest.

The meeting began with a certificate of appreciation presented by the 737th Tank Battalion to the Town for it's part in hosting their 56th reunion a few weeks ago. They said that a record 196 people attended and that it was the best reunion they could remember. Their experience could pave the way for additional reunions in Valdese in the future.

Clive Haynes presented his proposals for the mural that will be painted on the wall adjacent to the "East Main Street Park." Essentially, the scene would depict a late-1800s Burke County landscape with several of the original structures like the Presbyterian Church, the Winery (then a barn) and the Dalmas house. The mural is expected to seamlessly blend into the park with features such as a waterfall in the picture "flowing" into the planned waterfall in the park. The town will be approaching the Rock School Arts Foundation for assistance in obtaining funding to pay for the expected $20,000 cost ($17,000 for the artist and $3,000 to prepare the wall.) Applying for a grant is likely.

If you've noticed the temporary solution to the sunken manhole covers around the Main Street/Church Street intersection (poring asphalt over them) be assured that they can still be accessed if necessary and will be restored to normal condition and level with the road when the street is resurfaced.

Work is planned on Bobo Street beginning after the July 4th holiday to improve drainage and clean up the backs of the buildings. The town is considering leasing the "hollowed out" area where the old theater stood to use either for parking or dumpsters. The project will be completed in two phases to avoid heavy construction work during Myra's Little Italy's busy season but should be completed by the end of the year.

Local tri-athlete Sonni Dyer is working with Jeff Morse in pursing the possibility of developing Valdese into one of the ten planned regional training center. He would work as a consultant and intermediary between the town and the U.S. Association of Triathletes. There are several issues that would need to be worked out before the town could be seriously considered, including housing and facility access.

06/22/03
Old Colony Players had it's now annual golf tournament fundraiser at Silver Creek Plantation on Friday. Scheduling conflicts and lack of awareness limited the event to only six teams but the weather was perfect for the occasion. I played on a team with Mayor Jim Hatley, Town Manager Jeff Morse, and Community Affairs Director Chuck Moseley. We finished at twelve under and came in second. Chuck won a closest to the pin prize which was a gift certificate for ten free sessions at a tanning salon. Should be interesting to see if he uses them.

If you haven't heard, the AAYBA baseball tournament that was to be held in Burke County has been cancelled. Apparently, all the rain throughout the south-east caused too many games to be delayed so leagues weren't able to complete their qualifying tournaments. Every hotel room in Morganton had been booked for the eight-day event and the News Herald had planned ten special issues around the tournament.

06/15/03
I didn't learn until too late that the annual Fun Fishing at McGalliard Falls competition had been postponed until yesterday. According to Joey Lindsey, about 1,250 trout were released into the creek for the youth and senior competitors to attempt to catch. Results were not yet available but I'll post them as soon as I learn them.

The veterans of the 737th Tank Battalion held their reunion in Morganton this past weekend but toured Valdese on Friday, visiting all the local attractions. I was asked to be on hand at the Meytre Grist Mill to answer questions and show them around. It wasn't as easy as it sounds since everyone spread out  and many wanted to go watch the newly stocked trout swimming above the falls. Overall, however, many of them seemed very impressed with the town.

Opening in the building beside Dolls and Designs will be a custom cabinet maker. The downtown area is beginning to take on a remodeling/redecorating theme with flooring/carpeting and furniture/furniture restoration already being offered. About all that's left is for an interior designer to open up an office.

06/04/03
Awards were handed out at Monday's Town Council meeting for water conservation efforts at the area schools. Rutherford College took home the $1,000 first prize, followed by Valdese ($500), Hildebran ($300), and Icard and Ray Childers tying for fourth. East Burke essay winners were Clay Grisse ($100) and Travis Hoke ($50.)

Anyone who votes in the Lovelady 4 district (at the Valdese Community Center) will now vote at Town Hall. The move is to allow for more accessible parking and better handicap access.

The East Main Street park is still in the planning stages, but the mural has hit a setback as quotes are reaching as high as $15,000. Planners are now weighing their options.

If you haven't noticed, the town map is now on the kiosk in the town parking lot beside Wachovia. It's now on the south (or parking lot) side which to me makes more sense than the previous arrangement. The map highlights all the local attractions and the members of the Valdese Business Association.  It will be updated periodically as new businesses arrive.

Be sure to come wet a line at Fun Fishing at McGalliard Falls Saturday morning. The event is open to youth and seniors and winners are chosen from each age category. Lunch is provided by the American Legion.

05/29/03
A push is being made this summer to have an event each weekend between the two festivals (Founders and Waldensian.) In addition to the Alabama Motorcycle Rally hosted by Myra's, the Heritage Arts Center will hold demonstrations each weekend for particular crafts, a little league baseball association will hold its World Series in Burke County with  some games held in Valdese, a bocce tournament at Waldensian Heritage Wines, Fun Fishing at McGalliard Falls, and much more. For a complete list of summer acdtivities, pick up one of the Summer 2003 brochures, available in various places around the town or keep checking this site.

The Rotary Golf tournament was held last Friday at Silver Creek Plantation in Morganton during a break in rain. It was won by a team that was -16 for the round. The second place team was Chuck Moseley, Jeff Morse, Warren Nesbit, and Walt Church, Jr. at -12. My team finished somewhere in the pack at -7 which wasn't bad considering we started with seven straight pars. Besides myself, we were Larry Earp, Chris Beshara (of Valdese Auction Gallery) and Michael Brown.

Due to demand, there's a chance that the Valdese front license plates will be making a return, only with something other than the centennial "wreath" in the middle. Stay tuned for further developments.

05/17/03
I got an advance look at the t-shirts Larry Earp had printed for the car show at the upcoming Founders Festival and they actually look pretty nice. The shirt itself is white with a small Route 66 logo on the front where a pocket might go and a colorful graphic on the back with several cars. T-shirts are also being created for the festival in general which I am now carrying around in my car. They follow the same pattern of small logo on the front and a large graphic on the back.. They bear a close resemblance to a logo previously used on Waldensian Festival t-shirts (the grapes and ribboned text) but also have a little Waldensian lady on the graphic and, of course, say "Founders Festival".

While on the subject of Mr. Earp, Myra's will host a motorcycle rally honoring "Alabama," who has become a fixture on Main Street many evenings as he sits on one of the restaurant's benches near Main Street and waves at passing cars. The event will draw several area clubs and according to Mr. Earp, possibly over a hundred motorcycles. Each participant in the rally is being treated to a free barbeque sandwich and drink. To participate, I'm sure you must have a motorcycle and probably must be in one of the clubs. You can contact Myra's at 879-8049 for more information. The rally is set for Sunday, June 8th.

If you haven't been by the Heritage Arts Center lately, they've expanded to twenty craftspeople. They've also scheduled a summer slate of demonstrations for each Saturday during between the two festivals. It's worth a look.

05/05/03
Auditions for the annual production of "From This Day Forward" will be held at the Old Rock School on May 18th from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. and May 19th from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. This is the 36th consecutive year that Old Colony Players has staged the drama. They need actors and actresses of all ages and auditions will be a "cold read." Also needed are singers, dancers, and technical people. Scott Woodard will be directing the play which will be held on Fridays and Saturdays, July 11th through August 16th.

If I understood correctly, the Valdese Aquatics Club will merge with the Valdese Recreation Department to form a mega-swim organization with a permanent part-time position added to help manage and organize. From the swimmers perspective, little will change. This is all part of the town's desire to make Valdese the hub of swimming talent in the south-east. Don't start calling the Recreation Department, Steve Morrow has composed a letter to send to the parents of all swimmers to inform them about the change.

The town is looking in to putting restaurant signs on the Valdese interstate exits to attract travelers into our town. There are a few problems however, namely that only three Valdese restaurants meet all the criteria to get a sign (serve three meals a day, open at least twelve consecutive hours, and be open at least six days a week.) Butch's BBQ is very interested in the idea but doesn't want to be the only one paying for a sign. McDonald's and Mr. Roberts are also eligible but have not yet committed. The primary problem is how far people are willing to travel off the interstate to get to a restaurant. Most people that I know won't go farther than you can see from the end off the off-ramp. To get to the three restaurants involved in this proposal, a driver would have to travel through most of downtown Valdese, which could be beneficial to the local retailers.

The curtain hasn't fully closed on getting train service in Valdese. At the town council meeting, Vickie Oxentine noted that funding may become available for the construction of a depot in Valdese, though the actual service may still be several years away.

Word has it that the Lowes Grocery Store will be closing on May 27th and will be replaced by a Galaxy Market.

04/22/03
It would seem that Heather Howard has become the Charlotte Observer's official link to Valdese. Ms. Howard wrote a nice article in the Observer's "Catawba Valley Neighbors" section about the new businesses in downtown Valdese. Among those highlighted in the article were: The Creative Corner, Tri-County Wireless and Electronics, Furniture Care, and The Valdese Auction Gallery. Her article was also a reminder to me that I need to add these businesses to the listings on this site.

Also, in that same issue, Bill Poteat, former editor for the News Herald, wrote a column about Childers Market, one of the few independent grocery stores around.

If anyone has a picture of Karl Warlick, the town's police chief from 1946-47, please contact me or the Valdese Police Department at 879-2102. They have a series of photographs of all the town's police chiefs except Mr. Warlick's and are interested in putting them all on the official town website: www.ci.valdese.nc.us.

04/10/03
A new park, to be built in the parking area between Edward Jones and Flowers Auto Parts has moved forward. Scaled back from the original Robert Salisbury design, the park will include benches, walkways, a pond, and a large mural on the Edward Jones building's eastern wall. The mural has not been finalized, but it will likely be a scene of the mountains.

The Tourism Commission is looking into an advertising blitz on Charter Cable. The ads would appear on channels such as the Travel Channel at various times over a thirteen week period and would promote the local attractions such as the Winery. If you're on satellite or another cable system, however, you won't see the ads. The first will likely promote the tourism website: www.visitvaldese.com.

For those of you who play dodge-the-manhole while driving down Main Street, your prayers have been heard. The DOT is working with the town and a resurfacing of Highway 70 is planned. Also scheduled, is a reconstruction of exit #111 off Interstate 40. The exit will be reworked into the traditional on and off-ramp setup on the south side rather than the single cloverleaf system that is currently in place.

Jerry LaMaster, former Finance Director for the town, is back and has reclaimed his old job. Mr. LaMaster as you may recall, went to work for a U.S. defense contractor in Saudi Arabia a few years ago. I'm not really sure what brought him back, but would understand if things were getting a bit tense overseas. I'm a little disappointed, he has almost no tan! Greg Cannon, who has served as Finance Director will be taking Ruth Platukas' job as Tax Collector since she is retiring in June.

04/05/03
I hope you enjoyed the April Fool's story and were at least fooled for a short time. It's tough to come up with a believable story that doesn't involve someone who might be offended.

The kiosk is up but seems to be backward in my opinion. The way it is arranged, the town map is on the north (Main Street) side and the space for the business association to use is on the south side, facing the parking lot. It would seem to me that since most of what's going to be on the map is north of Main Street, the map should be situated where when you're looking at it, most of its points of interest are in front of you and not behind. Regardless, the kiosk looks pretty nice and will hopefully get a lot of use.

Anyone interested in entering a team in the Valdese Rotary Club's golf tournament should contact Ray Dzioba at 874-2136. The tournament is May 23rd at 1:00 p.m. at Silver Creek Plantation.

A reminder that if anyone with a craft would like to be a part of our Founders Festival on May 31st, PLEASE contact me at rostan@valdese.com or call Sandi Walker at 893-0640. We really need to get some more craftspeople since we are limiting the booths in this festival to true crafts.