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SportsTalk: Duke athletics has a long and distinguished history

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Granville County author and historian Lewis Bowling knows a thing or two about Duke University’s rich athletic history. Not only has he been a fan of the Blue Devils all of his life, he has also written two books, Wallace Wade: Championship Years at Alabama and Duke in 2012 and Duke Basketball: A Pictorial History in 2014. Bowling has also taught sports history and is a staff writer for Go Duke The Magazine. 

He remembers being able to walk up to the box office at Cameron Indoor Stadium 15 minutes before tip off and to purchase a ticket, something you could not do today. Bowling says, “I like to remind people that Duke basketball has a rich history before Coach K.” He cited contributions from many earlier Duke basketball coaches for establishing that history beginning with Wilbur “Cap” Card who was the first coach in 1905 when Duke was still known as Trinity College. That first team also featured Thad Stem Sr., father of the well known author Thad Stem Jr., as the team’s very first captain. Stem Sr. would go on to become a prominent lawyer and mayor of Oxford.

In the 1920’s Eddie Cameron took over the Blue Devils, and he coached until the 1940’s. Cameron Indoor Stadium is named for Cameron, who also coached football at the school in the early to mid 40’s. “He didn’t get the recognition he deserved,” Bowling says. This is in spite of the fact his name is on Duke’s basketball arena. “Cameron isn’t remembered for the various contributions over the years,” Bowling continued.

Bowling credits Bill Foster for bringing Duke basketball back to prominence in the late 1970’s and feels the team will be in good hands when Mike Krzyzewski steps down after the upcoming season. Assistant coach Jon Shyer will take over, and Bowling says he will add to the Duke basketball tradition.

Bowling says Duke football is equally deep in tradition. Wallace Wade had won three national championships at Alabama when he was offered the job at Duke for the 1931 season. “He shocked the nation by taking the job,” Bowling said. Duke was not known as a football school at the time. Wade led the team to two Rose Bowls. The first, in 1939, saw a Duke team that had not been scored on the entire year and was undefeated lose to Southern California 7 – 3. Duke would return to the Rose Bowl in 1942 and would also come up short as the undefeated Blue Devils lost 20 -16 to Oregon State. The game was moved to Durham that year due to World War II.  Wade would join the military in 1942 and turn the program over to Eddie Cameron who coached the team until Wade returned from military duty in 1945. Wade would remain until 1950. Duke’s football stadium is named for Wade.

Wade’s successor was Bill Murray, who was hand picked by Wade. Murray led the team to a Cotton Bowl victory in 1961 and would coach the team through the 1965 season. Bowling said that between 1931 and 1965 Duke’s won-lost record was as good as any team in the country.

Bowling said the Duke football program began to slip after 1965 and would struggle for over 20 years to return to prominence. In 1987 Steve Spurrier took over as head coach and turned the program around. Bowling says the football program is currently in great hands with David Cutcliffe and despite only winning three games last year should be a much stronger team this year. Bowling says Cutcliffe keeps a bust of Wallace Wade in his office and late at night Cutcliffe can almost hear Wade talking to him.

Bowling’s two books on the history of Duke athletics can be purchased at Amazon.

For complete details and audio click play.

 

TownTalk: Buzz Into The Bee Jubilee June 26 at Granville Expo Center

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Get up close and personal with bees – without getting stung – at the 5th annual Bee Jubilee Saturday in Oxford.

Christi Henthorn, president of the Granville County Beekeepers Association, and event organizer said there will be something for everyone at the event, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Granville County Expo Center, 4185 Hwy 15 South in Oxford.

Henthorn told John C. Rose on Thursday’s Town Talk that, in addition to supporting local vendors and bee enthusiasts, the Bee Jubilee is an opportunity to learn about these mighty pollinators.

“The vast majority of our food is either directly or indirectly related to pollinated plants,” Henthorn said. That funny-looking cucumber in your summer garden or the ill-shaped zucchini is more than likely the result of inadequate pollination, she said.

Bees are not the only pollinators, she noted, adding that bats and birds, butterflies and even annoying wasps are pollinators. And just because it buzzes does not make it a honeybee, she said. Bumblebees and carpenter bees may be pollinators, but they are not honeybees, she added.

The local vendors all have a focus of bee- an agriculture-related items, Henthorn said. There will be a silent auction and a live auction that starts at noon. See photos of the items that will be auctioned on the beekeepers’ Facebook page.

The Oxford Farmers Market will set up at the Expo Center on Saturday as well, she said. So If you go to their normal market spot downtown, they won’t be there. There will be inflatables for the kids to play on and half a dozen or more food vendors, from gourmet coffee to frozen treats.

Bee documentaries will be shown indoors, and vendors will be  outdoors under the covered arena space. The Granville Gardeners will be selling plants as well.

“Make sure when you come you mill around the whole facility,” Henthorn said.

Most counties in North Carolina have a beekeepers organization, she said, and it’s important to call a beekeeper if you find a swarm of bees on your property.

“Granville County beekeepers has a ‘swarm patrol,’ a group of beekeepers who are trained to capture swarms and remove them from wherever they are – in a tree or in a house. These people are comfortable around bees and they are willing to remove them safely. The hotline is 919.892.3670.

For complete details and audio click play.

 

TownTalk: Drive In To Job Fair Friday At Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre

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The Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre’s main feature on Friday is not the latest Hollywood movie – it’s a 5-county job fair sponsored by the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments. Forty employers will be on site to talk to prospective job seekers about their employment opportunities.

Desiree Brooks spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s Town Talk and said the job fair is definitely a team effort, thanks to valuable partnerships with Vance-Granville Community College, NCWorks, Chambers of Commerce and other governmental entities. The job fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“When we started promoting this, we were thinking we should be able to get 20 to 25 employers,” Brooks said. But thanks to efforts by the local chambers, economic development directors and others, the job fair exceeded that expectation.

In addition to employers from Vance, Granville, Franklin, Warren and Person counties, there will be other resources at the job fair, including KARTS, Granville-Vance Public Health, Granville County Department of Social Services and VGCC.

Having so many employers all in one central location is a good chance for job seekers to meet face-to-face those who are looking to hire employees. “They are looking forward to meeting people in the five-county area – it’s a great opportunity to meet them in person,” she said.

For complete details and audio click play.

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Simmons: Casket, Monument Business A Continuation Of His Mother’s Idea

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Allen Simmons is building upon an idea his mother had some years ago to help families during a time when they may feel most vulnerable – when they are making decisions about funeral expenses.

Simmons has started a business in Henderson called Alight Caskets and Monuments and he said he wants to give families affordable options when it comes to choosing caskets and monuments. His mother, the late Fearldine Allen Simmons, had an idea to provide affordable caskets some years ago when her niece died. She wanted to help the family provide an appropriate funeral while keeping an eye on the expenses.

Simmons told John C. Rose Wednesday on Town Talk that he is not trying to compete with funeral homes and the services they provide, rather, he said, he simply wants to be a help to the people in the community. “I grew to love where I live,” Simmons said of Henderson. “It’s a joy (to) help people wherever I go.”

The business, located on Norlina Road near the I-85 ramp, includes services from consultation with families to creating specially designed caskets. One woman asked him to create a U.S. Army design for her military veteran husband’s casket, he said. It takes up to 48 hours to complete a design on a casket.

Casket prices can range from $995 to more than $5,000, depending on the type and material used, Simmons said. “We try to give a family something nice, regardless of what they purchase,” he said, “something in your budget but also can help you to bury your loved one in an elegant way.”

He is delivering caskets throughout North Carolina, and into South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee and plans to soon be delivering across the country.

Simmons said his business is the only one in Henderson that makes monuments since Hight’s Monuments closed. “Monuments are a really big thing for us right now…you can buy a very nice monument for $250,” he said, and prices can go up into the thousands. His team also can assess an existing monument and determine whether it can be repaired, removed or replaced.

The goal of Alight Casket and Monument is to help people, Simmons said.

“We want to educate people on the funeral process – they don’t know what to do, how to handle this process,” he explained. “We educate them on how to handle the funeral of their loved one, learn as much as they possibly can, so when they do go into the funeral home, they’re well aware of the situation they’re facing.”

Most of all, he wants families to be able to bury their loved one in an “elegant way, an affordable way.”

To learn more, contact Simmons at 252.915.0675 or 252.204.5120.

For complete details and audio click play.

Maria Parham Hosts White Coat Ceremony For Residents In New Program

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Their journeys to medicine couldn’t have started more differently, but when two physicians put on their white coats during a ceremony next week their paths for the next few years will be remarkably similar.

Rashmi Saincher knew she wanted to pursue a job in the health or science field. She went straight to medical school after graduating from college; it took Jessica Y. Sanders several years – and several jobs – to put her on the path to becoming a doctor.

Sanders and Saincher will become the two newest residents in the Rural Training Track at Duke’s School of Medicine. Maria Parham Health and Duke Primary Care in Oxford are collaborators with the program, which is part of the family medicine residency in the department of family medicine and community health. The Rural Training Track was recently accredited by ACGME and Sanders and Saincher are the first to “match” with Maria Parham through the National Resident Matching Program Main Residency Match.

The June 30 white coat ceremony, hosted by Maria Parham Health, marks for the two physicians the beginning of a three-year commitment with the rural training track, which focuses on meeting primary care shortage needs in rural North Carolina. Both women said they are excited to begin the program. “We did all this work and it’s finally here and we’re starting the next leg of our journey,” Sanders told John C. Rose on Tuesday’s Town Talk. Saincher, who attended St. George’s Medical School in London, identified a mixture of excitement and nervousness in advance of the white coat ceremony. “It’s going to be a proper white coat,” she said. “It will be a very different feeling to be addressed as ‘doctor’ instead of ‘medical student,’” Saincher added.

During the first year of the program, the residents will spend a majority of their time at Duke University Hospital and Duke Regional, as well as Maria Parham Hospital and Duke Primary Care in Oxford. Over the next two years, their time will be spent mainly in Henderson and Oxford.

Maria Parham CEO Bert Beard said Tuesday that having the residents working at the hospital sends a positive message to the community. “It’s a big deal to have a residency program,” Beard told WIZS Tuesday. “And it’s a huge deal to have one associated with Duke University.”

Being a part of the rural training track sends “a signal to the region we serve that our partnership with Duke is strong and is growing,” and that Maria Parham is committed to the long-term health and well-being of patients in the community.

Those patients will benefit as well, Beard said. The physicians who are participating in the residency program are licensed, with some limitations, to write orders and care for patients. The plan is to have 12 residents within five years participating in the program – four in Year 3, four in Year 2, and four in Year 1.

The program will give them a lot more training and hands-on experience, Sanders said, mainly because they will be working more closely with patients in the rural setting. Beard said it’s a way to “cultivate the importance and the joy of serving as a primary care provider in a rural community.”

“I feel that the best cases and the best experiences in connecting with the community actually lie in the rural area,” Saincher said. “One thing that this pandemic has shown us is that every corner of society deserves the best care and I’m really excited to be able to help deliver that care and also to be able to improve my own skills in the process.”

Both physicians will go through a variety of different rotations in different areas of medical care; Saincher said she especially looks forward to working at the VA Hospital in Durham and in the areas of geriatrics and palliative care.

Sanders also looks forward to working at the VA. “Obviously, they are a very under-served population,” she noted. She also is interested in women’s health so she looks forward to the OB-GYN rotation.

Sanders said her “real-world” experiences between undergraduate school and medical school helped shape her approach to medicine. “I know Duke has wonderful mentors and providers,” she said, noting the importance of having that type of resource for support.

Saincher said her approach is to take every moment as a learning opportunity, “realizing that this is such a unique and great experience to grow. We’re all helping each other out the best way we can,” she said.

(This article and audio are not a paid ad.)

TownTalk: Vance and Granville Co. Animal Shelters Are Full

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The animal shelters in Vance and Granville Counties are full and need help!

If you enjoying volunteering and helping animals, then this announcement is for you.

For complete details and audio click play.

Matt Katz, the Granville County Animal Management Director, says the new Granville County Shelter needs to pick up a few volunteers, especially right now for summer. Katz said he and his staff are “looking for some dog walkers and cat snugglers.”

Because of some of the normal strains of summer, like people taking vacations or moving their family to a new location now that school is out, the new Granville County Animal Shelter is getting full. The new shelter houses, for example, almost 20 more dog kennels than the old shelter but is filling up.

Turns out in texting with Brandon Boyd, president of Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society, the Vance County Animal Shelter is full too –  Code Red!  In May of 2020, the Vance County Shelter was empty.  Boyd texted, “SUMMER TIME!!!  Every June and July this happens and rescues and adoptions slow down.  It’s two tough months always.”

The chief of Vance County Animal Services, Frankie Nobles, texted as well, “A lot of surrenders ands strays.  Adoptions are maintaining about the same.  Still have our regular volunteers coming.”

Katz said by phone some of the main volunteers at the Granville County Animal Shelter are out for a while volunteering on another project, and he said, “We really need to get the dogs out and walk them.” It’s better for the animals both large and small.

Unlike last year when covid was the main topic, this year summer plans, things opening up and travel are cutting down volunteers while more animals are being surrendered, or in come cases, even just left behind as people move to new towns for new jobs.

Last year when families and children were trapped inside more, fostering and rescues were in high demand, as not only was it good to do but it also provided some relief. That tide has turned and more work needs to be done now with fewer folks.

If you’d like to help and volunteer in Granville County, please call 919 693 6749. Or email, animal.shelter@granvillecounty.org.  See more @granvillecountyanimalshelterfriends on Facebook.

Call the Vance County Animal Shelter at (252) 492-3136.  See more @RCAPS.Henderson on Facebook.

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TownTalk: Gerald Alston’s Sound System Helped To Launch His Musical Career

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The way Gerald Alston sees it, the difference in today’s popular R&B music and that of just a few decades ago is clear: the older music tells a story and leaves room for the listener’s imagination. Not so much with today’s R&B.

“There’s no room for imagination,” Alston said of the newer music. “Artists come out and say exactly what they’re doing.”

Alston spoke by phone to WIZS’s Bill Harris on Monday’s Town Talk. And just like the music that he and The Manhattans perform, the Henderson native shared stories about getting his start in music and reminisced about working with many big-time R&B groups.

A lot of today’s hiphop music is based on the foundation laid by R&B greats, he said. The music The Manhattans and so many others are known for “told stories about life that people could identify with,” he said.

Alston has played concerts across the globe – from South Africa and South America to Great Britain and McGregor Hall, right here in Henderson. The group has played for more than two hours to 15,000 concertgoers in South Africa, he said. “They know our music to a T. Those fans sang every song we performed for two and a half hours,” Alston said. “Our music has been passed down to their children and they still honor that – they realize the importance and quality of it.”

The group has evolved over the years, but The Manhattans are still performing and recording. These days, it’s Alston, Troy May and Dave Tyson who comprise the group.

Their newest album of music, The Manhattans featuring Gerald Alston: The Legacy Continues, is available on their website, www.letsjustkissandsaygoodbye.com.

The website name is a nod to the group’s most successful song, but Alston’s association with The Manhattans began a few years before that song was released in 1976. Alston was attending Kittrell College and agreed to let The Manhattans borrow his sound system for a concert there. “I had no idea they were coming,” he said. Well, as he was testing the system out – by singing, of course – in walked the group that he would later be asked to join. He opened the show for them at Kittrell College and a short time later, the manager caught up with him. He had been booked on a flight to Dallas to join the group. The manager had already been in touch with Alston’s parents, who’d signed the contract since Alston was under age.

“I came back to New York and rehearsed for a few weeks and then I started singing with The Manhattans,” he explained.

The Manhattans weren’t the first group that Alston was a part of; he and his cousin, Dwight Fields (son of Johnny Fields, of Blind Boys of Alabama fame) put a group together that lasted through high school.

Alston, 69, remembers those early days well, from the days when he opened for B.B. King and the man got a standing ovation BEFORE he started playing, to meeting the family of the late Sam Cooke after Alston produced a record of Cooke’s songs.

“I had been wanting to do that for a long time,” Alston recalled. Although his idea had been to do one gospel side and one R&B side, it became two separate albums. Cooke’s brother, L.C. Cooke, did the liner notes for the album. “He said, ‘your album is a true tribute album –  you are singing all of his songs the way you feel them, the way you interpret them,” Alston said.

People who listen to music solely through streaming services and not by actually playing a record album or a CD don’t get the same experience, Alston said. Music lovers who still spin vinyl, however, are still out there enjoying the full experience.

“You can go to Great Britain, South Africa, Japan, South America,” he said. “Those fans can tell you literally the year you recorded, the studio, the musicians, the words –  the year you were at Columbia Records, the  engineers –  it’s incredible. There’s so much history on the physical vinyl, it’s good to have.”

TownTalk Interview with Gerald Alston

TownTalk: Town Of Kittrell Has An Interesting Story To Tell

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Kittrell Drew Visitors From All Over With Mineral Springs, Hotels…

Is it possible that the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1901 could have played even a small role in the fate of the Vance County town of Kittrell?

Maybe.

Driving on US 1 through Kittrell today, you’d never know that Kittrell had been home to hotels and resorts that drew visitors from all over. People convalescing from tuberculosis came for the mineral springs and Northerners came to hunt and escape cold winters, according to Mark Pace, local historian. Pace and Bill Harris shared stories about the tiny town of Kittrell on Thursday’s Town Talk as part of an ongoing conversation about local history.

“Kittrell really takes off when the railroad came through,” said Mark Pace, during Thursday’s Town Talk with co-host Bill Harris. In the late 1800’s it was called Kittrell’s Depot – plural because there were two depots, one for passengers and one for commercial use. About the time that the railroad came through, they found a mineral spring, which launched a host of hotels and lodges that brought people from all over to the small Vance County town.

Back at the turn of the 20th century, Census records showed that Kittrell had 168 residents – just about what it has today. But that number back in 1900 is half of what the population had been just 10 years earlier.

Why the drop? “The hotels had closed up by that point,” Pace said.

“Kittrell had its day,” he said. It had its own downtown district, hotels – it was famous throughout the South, complete with fine old homes and historic buildings.

Several families, including the Kittrells, gave land for the railroad to come through. “Kittrell really takes off when the railroad comes through,” Pace said. In the mid-1850’s, the town was called Kittrells – because there were two train depots, one for passengers headed to the hotels and resorts and a second for freight. Along about the time the railroad began chugging through, there was a discovery of a mineral springs. And from the late 1850’s until World War 1, Kittrell was in its heyday.

Over a period of about 30 years, there were four hotels in Kittrell: Located where the Dollar General now stands was Kittrell Springs. It could accommodate 600 guests; and the Davis Hotel, or Glass House, had space for 800 people.

The Glass House, so named because glass porches on either side of the hotel was where people with tuberculosis could be cared for indoors by staff nurses while enjoying the sunlight. The destination was so popular, folks even rented out rooms in private homes. In 1867, Pace said that all the hotels 500 people were turned away. There was no more room.

But after the Golden Era of the resort – after the end of the Civil War and just prior to World War I – interest in Kittrell fell off.

The healing and restorative powers of the mineral springs were largely debunked by the Pure Food and Drug Act. And the bottled water, promising help to those suffering from dyspepsia to female ailments, lost traction in the national market.

The hotels and opera houses, billiard rooms and downtown district are long gone. But the stories remain.

For complete details and audio click play.

 

S-Line Rail Corridor

TownTalk: Downtown Development Manager Shares Updates On Projects

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Picture this: The S Line rail passengers, bound from Charlotte to Richmond, stop in the late afternoon at the Henderson Depot. As they emerge from the train, they’re making decisions – Where to dine? Want to take in tonight’s show at McGregor Hall? Which downtown hotel or bed and breakfast should I try tonight? The stopover in Henderson has become a welcome break in the trip, a respite filled with food, nightlife and tranquil lodging.

When you dream, dream big.

And when there’s an opportunity to get closer to making that dream a reality, make sure to check it out.

That just may be what Tracy Madigan has experienced in her first months as Henderson’s downtown development manager. The dreams are alive and the opportunities are presenting themselves.S-Line Rail Corridor

Madigan spoke with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk about her new role and what’s on the horizon to make downtown a more attractive destination for visitors – and prospective businesses.

As for the train stopping again in Henderson, she said there was to have been a meeting today with state officials to share just why Henderson needs to be a stop on the S Line.

“There are all kinds of ideas in the works,” Madigan said. But they are merely ideas, waiting for decisions to be made. Henderson and Franklinton are being studied for possible train stops. A stop in Henderson could open up lots of possibilities for downtown development, she added.

While the train stop may be more of a long-term project, Madigan mentioned several areas downtown that have already gotten a facelift – namely, lights at the reflection pools and fountains near the city fire station, the construction of an outdoor pavilion/amphitheater by McGregor Hall  and the beautification of Orange Street Park.

With help from Sam Franklin and Franklin Brothers Nursery, the summer plantings are in at the park, and some garden benches are coming soon to that greenspace, nestled beside the Henry A. Dennis Building on Garnett Street.

“You should be seeing the lights in the fountains coming on in the next couple of weeks,” Madigan said. This is the first of several water installations that are planned around the city, she added.

The pavilion, an outdoor venue option for events, is under construction. Tommy Roberson, of Robco Manufacturing and Alumadock Marine Structures, is a pavilion benefactor, she said.

The vision of the downtown development commission is to assist with, help and encourage downtown development and economic vitality, she said. Often, city and county entities collaborate to further the mission.

Although she is a city employee and reports to City Manager Terrell Blackmon, Madigan said, she often collaborates with other agencies and government officials. Vance Economic Development Director Christian Lockamy and Chamber of Commerce President Michele Burgess are two individuals who continue to provide extensive support and help.

One long-range goal is to develop incentives in the form of grants to help businesses – existing and prospective – have an impact in the downtown area. There are smaller incentive grants that are available, but Madigan said she hopes to be able to offer larger grants in the future.

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TownTalk: NWS Predicts Above Average Hurricane Season

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Summer’s On The Doorstep And That Means Hurricane Season Is, Too

Summer is still officially about a week away, but Jonathan Blaes, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service office in Raleigh says it’s not too soon to be thinking about having a plan in case of a hurricane.

Blaes said Tuesday that the first two named storms have posed no threat to North Carolina, but the June to November hurricane season is shaping up to be another busy one for weather forecasters. And he’s watching another system in the Gulf of Mexico that could bring our area rain in the next three to five days.

“This season is likely to be another busy one,” he said. He said last year was an extreme year, and this year is shaping up along the same lines.

He told Bill Harris and John C. Rose on Town Talk that this is the seventh consecutive year that a tropical storm has developed before the normal June start date. There’s even talk about changing the official start date to May 15 because of this, he said. “The weather doesn’t really know the calendar very well – that’s for people to worry about,” Blaes said.

TownTalk Broadcast with Jonathan Blaes

Meteorologists must deal with more and more data in their jobs, and artificial intelligence is one tool that helps target more meaningful data to make their forecasts. But Blaes said it’s important to know when to rely on computer models. “There are certain patterns where humans add a great deal of value to forecast,” he said. One example is cold air damming or “the wedge.”

In winter, when temperatures hover in the 30s and 40s for days, “the wedge” sits over the area and computer models struggle with just how long the weather pattern will last. “Sometimes, we (humans) can beat the models,” Blaes said. But at other times, such as accurately predicting the track a hurricane will take, it’s best to leave it to computers.

“Weather likes balance,” Blaes said, “and to be honest, that’s what a hurricane does.” Hurricanes are nature’s way to remove excess moisture and heat from one area of the globe and put it somewhere else – the Atlantic Ocean supports development of a Bermuda high pressure system, which “hurricanes tend not to be able to drive through,” Blaes said.

Depending on where that high is set up that often will dictate the path a hurricane takes, he added.

“There’s a reason we have a rich history in this area,” he added. Hurricanes oftentimes graze us, and sometimes crush us.”