Seventy years ago, Elinor Hawkins’s professor asked her to choose a book she’d collect for the rest of her life. She picked “The Night Before Christmas.” Today, she has more than 1,000 copies.
susan stafford kelly
Always in Fashion: The Front Porch in Eden
At The Front Porch, locals gather in a historic downtown building that has long been the go-to source for news and nostalgia — and now, new clothes, too.
Daddy Pete Farms in Stony Point
A Century Farm in Alexander County capitalized on an underappreciated and often-overlooked product already sitting in the cow pastures.
Baker’s Kitchen is Home to Delicious Breakfasts — and Butter Syrup
Baker’s Kitchen has weathered storms — literal and metaphorical — to keep its community in baked goods and breakfast foods (with a side of butter syrup).
A Tobacco Town Transformed: Wilson
A former tobacco salesman watches over the evolution of his family’s old marketplace into a modern living complex.
Good Times at the Old Hampton Store
In an old trading post and gristmill near Grandfather Mountain, an artist has created a community of locals and tourists who come together over pulled pork and fried pickles, High Country cocktails, and traditional Appalachian art and music.
The Fairest of Them All
In Pinehurst, an unusual barn once served as an exhibition hall for livestock and a stump for local politicians, who’d snap their suspenders and make big promises. Today, this restored barn in the heart of horse country hosts weddings, dinners, and even rock concerts.
A Generous Spread
At a Colonial Revival mansion in Greensboro, the organizers of Community Table host a new kind of Sunday supper — one involving 13 chefs and twists on Southern cuisine like bacon-wrapped emu and collard-green kimchi.
Stuck on Summer: Saltwater Taffy
Lazy beach days are never long enough. But for a taste of the season that lasts and lasts, saltwater taffy comes pretty close.
