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The Burnsville Trail is the largest concentration of blocks in the smallest area.
Learning the stories behind the blocks will give you some of the history about
Burnsville.
Be sure to go into the businesses that have a quilt block on their building. Start with
the sock factory where the Twinkletoes block is. You can buy socks there off the
factory floor. They make socks that bear brand names you will recognize and you
can buy them here for less than in the stores that carry the brands. They also make
and sell “monkey” socks for you seamstresses who want to make the monkey dolls.
If the door is locked, just tap on the glass.
Fox Country Store is a real old timey country store with a little bit of
everything. It’s fun and you may discover you spend more time there than you
thought you would.
Yummy Mud Puddle is worth the trip up the mountain to find. John makes art
from trash (excuse me, found objects) and Claudia is a potter. They are usually home
working plus they have a beautiful cottage they rent by the week or month - big
enough for a family reunion.
You quilters will want to stop at our quilt shop on East Main St. (Needle Me
This).
Take time to find the Witch’s Star. It isn’t hard to find and it is one of our most
picturesque settings.
On your way to the Witch’s Star, you may pass our new Sundial - the only
quilt block sundial in the world, and the largest vertical sundial in North Carolina.
New To You Furniture is a fun store to poke around in - you might find a
teapot like your grandmother had, or a piece of furniture that is just what you were
looking for.
We have delightful clothing stores - David’s Ltd, the Grapevine, and you can
even find painted shoes at Clodhoppers.
Stop by our Gift Shop at One of a Kind Gallery in Micaville and discover the wide
range of talent we have in our local
This trail connects with the Lickskillet,
artisans.
Pensacola and Arbuckle trails.
Make sure you start with a full tank of gas.
PVT
Schoolgirl’s
Puzzle
The Terrell
House
Robertson St.
North
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Star
Toe River
Arts Council
W. Main
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106 N Main St.
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State of North
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CITY LIMIT 10 Orchard Dr.
INSET LINE
Card Trick
PAR
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Star
Red Barn
Lane off
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which is off
Hwy 19 at
West edge of
town.
LINCOLN
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Sea Star
687 Barebridge Dr. McIntosh
PVT
PVT
MARK
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Rose
729 Barebridge Dr.
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106 W. Main
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Duck’s Foot in the Mud
Yummy Mud Puddle
264 Clearview Lane
follow the ducks from
Cherry St.
Breadbasket
Star
Corner of
Westover and
W. Main
691
Crystal Star
105 W. Main St.
on the side of
the building
visible from
CVS
CITY LIMITS
Corn and
Beans
Fox Country
Store
Cherry St.
Twinkletoes
Burnsville
Hosiery
Ferguson Hill
Rd. and Hwy
19e
Leaves
in the Spokes
771 W Hwy 19E Bypass
65 Vette
Burnsville
Chevrolet
W. Main St.
Homemaker’s
Floral
Double Duty
Dream
Centerpiece on the back of
Carolina
Burnsville
The
Mountain Realty
Florist
Grapevine
Hwy 19e Bypass Hillside Dr.
visible from
Hwy 19e
Star of Nutrition
612 W. Main St.
BURNSVILLE WEST TRAIL
Estimated driving time: 2 hours
Allow extra time for shopping and eating and browsing.
Molar Star
302 W. 19E
Bypass
Dr. Poling’s
office
Rose
Yancey County
Former Library
on the Square
Minnesota
Carriage
House
S. Main St.
Courthouse
Steps
Yancey
County
Courthouse
on the Square
Leaves in the Spokes
Location: Solstice Cycles and New Leaf Design, 771 W. Hwy 19E Bypass. Designed
by Barbara Webster, painted by
installed by John Hogan.
Story by Teleia Tollison
Sometimes, quilt blocks are like peanuts: a person needs more than
one. Such is the case of Kathy and John Hogan. Kathy first bought a
small block for John's home-based bike shop, and it was so lovely that
she decided to get another for their 19-E businesses, New Leaf Design
and Solstice Cycles. The block, “Leaves in the Spokes,” melds the two
businesses and can be seen on the east side of their building.
The Hogans' move to Burnsville was gradual. Kathy grew up in
Tampa, Florida, and first began coming to North Carolina when her
parents retired to the area 25 years ago, always bringing her son for
visits and holidays. When John and Kathy married, they bought a cabin
on Cattail, then a house with some property right above her parents'
home. After they retired from the military in 2006, they moved to
Burnsville fulltime.
After their careers as military officers, the Hogans supposedly
retired; however, John became the senior officer with the JROTC
program at Mountain Heritage High School, and Kathy went to work
at Heritage Lumber working in cabinet design. Two years later, they
started their Burnsville businesses in the beautiful little log building
purchased from their friend, Rick Carroll. Kathy opened New Leaf
Design to sell cabinets and other gift items, including wreaths made
from a mix of flora and beads, journals, regional pottery, and unique
furniture pieces. In the coldest part of the winter of 2009, John closed
in the back porch and built his bike shop. Solstice Cycles opened in
spring of 2009 and has been growing since. Soon it will occupy the
bottom floor of the building, and Kathy will conduct her business
upstairs.
John and Kathy agree that there is never enough time to do
“retirement” things like traveling and gardening. John also wants to
fish, while Kathy would like to finish their own house. For the present,
Kathy loves helping other people create beautiful kitchens and homes;
she finds her work very rewarding. She is also competitive and
particularly loves cycling. Fortunately, for someone involved in racing,
her husband is the world's best “wrench.” In her spare time, Kathy
teaches graduate courses online, reads, grows things, and collects
animals. John stays busy with JROTC events, the responsibilities of
running the only bike shop in town, and promoting cycling at all
levels.
They have enthusiastically supported the Quilt Project because
they feel that it has “brought a lot of attention to the area, and it is a
fine expression of the artistic talent on the parts of the designers and
painters!” When Kathy and John decide to do something different, they
may not live in Burnsville fulltime, but they will always maintain a
physical place here and a mystical one in their hearts.
Look for their sister block on the Pensacola trail.
McIntosh Star
Location: McIntosh barn at the West edge of town on Hwy. 19. Drafted and
Painted by Art students from Mtn. Heritage High School. Installed by David,
Evan, and R.L. McIntosh and Arle Honeycutt.
This McIntosh Star is from Judy
Martin’s book, The Block Book.
Mountain Heritage High School
students drafted and painted the
block using the McIntosh Tartan
and if you can look at the block
up close you will see the
background is plaid. The colors
of the entire block are from the
McIntosh tartan.
The McIntosh family has been an integral part of Yancey County for at
least five generations and has lived inside the town limits of Burnsville
during all those generations. For many years, R.L. McIntosh ran Burnsville
Furniture and Hardware. (The building now houses Monkey Business and
Something Special.) David McIntosh, R.L.’s younger brother, owned
David’s Limited clothing store. Their parents had a restaurant which was
originally in what is now the Toe River Arts Council building and they
lived upstairs. They had a grocery store, called the Red Front Grocery
Store where the Hilltop Restaurant is now. They also had the McIntosh
Drug Store in the building where David’s Ltd. is now housed. In later years
Dick McIntosh, son of Troy McIntosh (R.L. and David’s father’s brother)
started the Hilltop Restaurant. David and R.L.’s mother was a Hensley. Her
family was from the Pensacola area and also goes back at least 5
generations. David McIntosh has served as Chair of County
Commissioners and as alderman on the Town Board and he is currently a
partner of Heritage Lumber Company. R.L. McIntosh is retired but still
active in the community, especially with theatre.
Card Trick
Location: 505 Barebridge Dr. Painted by Ethel Nash, installed by
Sam Nash.
The Card Trick quilt block is an interesting exercise in optical
illusion. Based on a series of triangles sewn together in nine
separate blocks, it creates the illusion of overlapping cards.
This Card Trick Quilt block was donated by Quilt Trails for a
silent auction to benefit Parkway Playhouse. Quilt Trails &
Parkway Playhouse are one of the many treasures of Yancey
County. Card Trick is special to us as it was painted by Ethel &
one of our granddaughter's.
Ethel and Sam Nash moved to Burnsville in the fall of 2002.
They lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas for 5 years, before that, in
the Minneapolis area for 28 years where they raised their
family & tried to make it through the long winters. Ethel says,
“I have always been a homemaker and stay-at-home-Mom.”
Each move was due to job relocation for Sam.
For the last 8 years of his career, he was the General Manager
for Piedmont Service Trucks and now is retired. Ethel and Sam
have 4 children (2 girls and 2 boys) and 7 wonderful
grandchildren. This past March their oldest grandson got
married so they now have a granddaughter-in-law. Ethel says,
“We don't get to see them a much as we would like as they all
like in different states. We also now have a puppy named
Sadie.”
Sam is involved in Habitat, teaches adult Sunday school class
at Higgins, os on the foundation board of the Blue Ridge
Regional Hospital and is the current President of Parkway
Playhouse.
Ethel is involved in Monday Sewing Group, Ugly Quilts and
making banners for her church. Besides making quilts, Ethel
loves to knit or crochet baby items, make emboss /stenciled
cards and she enjoys painting the quilt blocks.
Ethel says the thing they like most about Burnsville is “the
people are so friendly, the mountains are beautiful & it just
feels like home.”
SEA STAR
Story By Keitha Swaim
Location: 687 Barebridge Dr., Burnsville. Painted by Kathy Rose, Carole Pearson
and Jane Greene, installed by Charles Rose.
Jo Beaudry comes from a sailing family who lived in the Florida
Keys. Jo is an official “Conch” – a person who has lived in the Keys
for more than 20 years.
Jo's family is from the Great Lakes in Michigan, but they
have had property on Big Pine Key in Florida for more than 50 years.
Their sailing has been in the Great Lakes, all around Florida, the
Bahamas and other islands of the Atlantic.
Jo offered her basement to Quilt Trials when the project first
got started, and it was there that many of the first blocks were
painted. Jo says, “I realize the work entailed [in painting the blocks]
as many blocks were painted in the lower level of my home when
this project started. Only arthritic fingers have kept me from
painting. I did do the priming on the backs and sides until I could no
longer wrestle the blocks around!”
Without Jo’s basement as paint headquarters Quilt Trails may
never have gotten off the ground. We owe her a huge debt of
gratitude and thank her for her unique contribution to the Quilt Trails
project.
Look for the block on the side of Jo’s house.
Rose
Location: 729 Barebridge Dr., Burnsville. Painted by Kathy Rose. Installed by
Keith Beam.
Story By Kathy Rose
The ancestral home of Clan Rose is Kilravock Castle near Inverness,
Scotland. The first Roses came to America and settled in Virginia
where they were listed in the 1650 census. Many Scots gradually
moved south and west and made their way to the Blue Ridge which
they found very similar to their Highland homeland. Kathy and
Charles Rose thought the rose quilt design was an interesting way to
remember those Scottish ancestors.
This house is next door to the Sea Star block.
Twinkletoes
Location: Burnsville Hosiery, on Hwy. 19e, the west edge of Burnsville - Ferguson
Hill Rd. Designed and drafted by Martin Webster, painted by Fayma Childs,
Deborah Palmer, Ruth Peake, Mary Ellen Donnelly and Barbara Webster.
Carl Peverall painted the gradient. Installed by Jeff Phillips.
Story by Norma Astin, daughter of the founder
The quilt block on the Burnsville Hosiery Mill has a terrific surprise in it - if
you look closely you’ll see the star is made from socks. We looked hard for a
traditional quilt block that would be appropriate for a sock factory but came
up empty handed. So Martin Webster tackled the project and gave us a star
quilt block that looks remarkably like a traditional quilt block.
Burnsville Hosiery Mill Inc. came officially into being in 1946. C.O Ellis,
after negotiations with Mayor Grady Bailey and his committee, established
the new industry which became the only manufacturing operation in Yancey
County at that time. The factory produced socks for men and boys and for
some time specialized in military socks. Mr. Ellis, a resident of Hickory,
N.C. brought years of experience to the new corporation and the town
provided a two-story building on North Main Street which came rent free
and also provided Mr. Ellis the option of his purchasing that building for
$5,000 after ten years. (That building—131 N. Main St.—now owned by
Norm Rabek, hosts the quilt block called Empty Spools.)
In 1967, the business venture, which had approximately 50 employees,
expanded into a larger location just outside the city limits in West Burnsville.
The business continues to manufacture socks now under the management of
the son of the founder, Neill Ellis and remains Yancey County’s oldest
manufacturing facility.
Socks made here are sold under a variety of popular brand names. You can
also buy “sock monkey” socks, complete with directions on how to make
your own sock monkey. These special socks are not made anyplace else in
the country, and if you look closely, you’ll discover one of the socks in your
package will have a heart. When you make the sock monkey, that “tattoo”
ends up on the monkey’s chest. The heart of Burnsville lies within the
Burnsville Hosiery Mill. Learn more about the sock monkeys at
www.homeofthesockmonkey.com. Get a map at the Chamber of Commerce.
Corn and Beans
Location: Corner of West Main and Cherry St., Burnsville. Drafted by
Barbara Webster, painted by Barbara Webster, Cheryl Hughes, Carol
Bareford and Deborah Palmer. Installed by Jeff Phillips.
Fox Brothers Store
Written by Laurel Hogan Earls
As told by Jeanette Fox
Fox Brothers Store was established in the late 1920's by Mr. C.M.
Bailey. The store met the needs of the families and farming
community in Burnsville and the surrounding areas. The general
store, or mercantile, was designed to supply not only feed, seed, and
fertilizer for the farmers, but food and supplies for the families as
well.
This traditional quilt block seemed the
perfect block for Fox Country Store. They
sell seed, tack, farm clothing, fencing and
all manner of delightful and useful things
for country living. We recommend you go
into the store and discover a real old timey
country store.
Because of the way we colored the block
(brown for the freshly plowed fields, green
for the growing plants, tan for the deer,
blue for the sky, yellow for the sun, red for
the flowers), there is a double star in the
block. Most of the quilt blocks in the town
of Burnsville have a star in them. Look
closely at this block and you will see the
blue star in the middle, and a green star on
the outside.
In 1935, the Banks family purchased the mercantile from Mr. Bailey.
As with most establishments of this nature, the mercantile was
considered a community store – folks came to purchase what they
needed for their homes and farms, and were able to catch up on what
was happening around the town and community as they shared news
and bumped into their neighbors. This important aspect of the
“community store” was nearly as valuable as the goods sold there.
Throughout this time, the future owner of the store, Mr. Max Fox Sr.,
lived just up the hill above the store and remembers many comings
and goings over the years. He recalls the existing building having
been built sometime in the year 1936.
By 1948 the store was sold to a relative of the Banks family – Mrs.
Lela Johnson, and her husband Lacy. At some point during the time
the Johnsons owned the store, Lacy added a meat market to the
grocery offerings. This was a much appreciated addition to the store,
and was maintained until the advent of the “supermarket.” As with
many family-owned establishments, the competition with such stores
changed the way the store was stocked, and the grocery element of the
store was significantly changed over time.
In 1977, Mr. Max Fox Sr. along with his wife Jeanette, and Mr. Ben
Fox along with his wife Faye, purchased the store from the Johnsons.
It was then renamed Fox Brothers Store. Despite competition from
discount stores and supermarkets, the Fox Brothers continued to offer
a wide variety of items – the primary focus still being on feed, seed,
and fertilizer, but keeping the staples of a good general store on hand.
Later, in 1999, Max Fox Sr. and Jeanette bought out Ben and Faye's
share of the store. It remains a family-owned and operated store with
Mr. Max Fox Jr. and his wife Crystal and Mr. Shane Johnson and wife
Amy Fox Johnson running the store today.
Fox Brothers store retains the charm of an old time country mercantile with the warmth of community still
within its walls. Much of the original building is intact since its 1936 construction – the wood flooring and
walls still remain. A cinderblock addition sometime in the 1960s did little to change the atmosphere, but has
helped the Fox family as they continue to meet the needs of their customers. Today's visitors can expect to find
the staples expected in a full-service general store – farming supplies, clothing, hardware, simple housewares,
and toys – something for everyone. Recently, the family has added a line of giftware for the growing number of
tourists who come to visit.
The Fox family desires that all who come would discover the richness of our community's heritage and leave
with a sense of family and community – as have the many who came before.
Duck’s Foot in the Mud
Location: Yummy Mud Puddle Art Studio, 264 Clearview Lane. Drafted by
Barbara Webster, Painted by John Richards and Claudia Dunaway. Installed
by John Richards.
John Richards and Claudia Dunaway have become town celebrities.
They formed and play in the band Hot Duck Soup, and John is known
for his wonderfully wacky art made from scavenged materials, Claudia
for her fine pottery.
Claudia is a potter and makes functional pitchers, bowls, mugs and
dinnerware. They came to Burnsville from Florida, where their gallery,
The Temple of Great Art, No Spitting, was also a huge hit.
Claudia is originally from North Carolina which led them to return and
grace our community. The traditional block, Duck’s Foot in the Mud,
seemed just about perfect for them. When this block is painted a
different way it is known as Bear’s Paw. This is a very old traditional
quilt block and has several names, including Chinese Block Pattern.
We think you will enjoy a visit to their studio to see this traditional block
where you can sit by the pond and drink in the view. And we are sure
you will enjoy seeing John’s lamps, mirrors and other useful items
presented in a brand new way or find a piece of Claudia’s pottery for
your table or flower window.
Coathanger Star
Location: Woodby's Quality Cleaner, 651 W. Main St., Burnsville. Designed by Myhria
Woodby. Painted by Carolyn Bareford, Fayma Childs, and Deborah Palmer, Installed by
Keith Beam.
Story by Dianna Conway
The Coathanger Star block was born out of a desire to be a part of the
Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina and our vast heritage. This block
is an expression of a family business that has been an icon in the area for
some time and was a unique vision inspired by Chris and Myhria Woodby
to showcase their business, Woodby's Quality Cleaner's in Burnsville.
The original business was housed in the building next to where it is now.
Thirty years ago, Dean Wilson purchased the business and built a new
home for the cleaners and it's still thriving there today.
Both Chris and Myhria were raised on small working farms and hard
work was no stranger to them. Owning and running their own business
seemed natural for them. They understand a sense of value and stability.
They felt that Woodby's Quality Cleaners needed a quilt block to show
what they are made of.
In keeping with the Quilt Trail Project, the theme of the block represents
something that is the most used in the daily works of a dry cleaner: the
coat hanger. There is also a greater significance in the design of this
block, upon closer review. The red coat hangers symbolize the Sign of the
Cross.
The choice of the very vibrant colors is to portray a brightness that is
reminiscent of cleanliness. It was designed as a unique way to express
artistic beauty, warmth for the area and to keep Woodby's Quality
Cleaners on the map for years to come.
Best Friends
Location: 660 W. Main St., Burnsville. Painted by:Matthew Mimms,
Jane Greene, Margot Parker, Ken Hoke, Jackie Meyer, Carole Pearson,
Valerie Harvard and Kathy Rose.
Story by Teleia Tollison
Dr. Stacy Jones' quilt square is a most appropriate one for her.
She truly is the best friend of animals of all species. Dr. Stacy,
veterinarian and owner of Cane River Veterinary Wellness
Clinic, is proud that she has helped Mitchell County Animal
Rescue send its thousandth animal to Potter's League for
Animals in Rhode Island for adoption. Rhode Island has very
strict spay and neuter laws which allows them to adopt unwanted
Western North Carolina animals. Dr. Jones also volunteers at the
Mitchell County Animal Shelter, spaying and neutering dogs and
cats abandoned there. She urges all pet owners to neuter their
animals; pets are not only less likely to roam, but it also
decreases their cancer rate when they get older.
From her childhood on a Minnesota farm, Dr. Stacy has always
been around animals, helping her family with cattle, hogs, sheep,
goats, and rabbits. In 4-H she showed horses. At North Carolina
State School of Veterinary Medicine, she continued her work
with farm animals, winning the Swine Student of the Year
Award. Her practice includes both large and small animals, and
she even makes house calls. Currently, Dr. Stacy has 5 dogs, 4
cats, a horse, and a ghost, all rescued.
With its eccentric history, the clinic itself could be considered a
rescue project. Originally, the hospital was a family home,
lovingly built for someone's mother. Somewhere in the front
yard is a lost class ring from the 1960's. After a tragic accident,
the house stood empty for years with rumors of the ghost of a
Mrs. Freeman wandering around before it became a veterinary
clinic. When Dr. Stacy purchased it, the building inspector told
her that the structure was so solid that it could withstand a
hurricane. She bought the clinic because it felt homey,
comfortable, and inviting. She loved the oak trim and the wood
floors. The charm of the big house give it character not typically
found in a veterinary clinic. Mrs. Freeman was completely
discounted by Dr. Stacy—until she actually saw the spirit. The
doctor has found, however, that the ghost is benevolent and
helps watch over the animals.
Dr. Stacy has quickly become a revered part of the Burnsville
community. Many of her clients have made quilts for the
doctor's home, and the quilt square displayed on the side of her
clinic is a natural extension of the beauty of the craft. She loves
country music, the outdoors, the Outer Banks, and of course, her
rescued menagerie.
65 Vette
Location: Burnsville Chevrolet on W. Main St. Designed by Martin Webster, Drafted
by Carolyn Bareford, Painted by Carolyn Bareford, Installed by Keith Beam.
Story by Maryallen Estes
The Burnsville Chevrolet Buick owners, Don Fuqua and Gary Hyder,
requested a customized quilt design based on the 1965 Chevy
Corvette. If you look carefully at the design you will see the front and
back of two corvettes.
Before there ever was a car dealership in this location, back in the
1930's, the place was a general store and filling station. However, by
the late 1940's, an enterprising gentleman by the name of "Big"
George Roberts began the long tradition of establishing a Chevrolet
Dealership. It was known as Roberts Chevrolet. The next owner was
"Big" George's nephew, Tom Roberts.
Martin Webster jumped at the
chance to design this block
because the ‘65 Corvette is
one of his favorites and
featured prominently in an 8millimeter movie that he and
his high school Art Club filmed
in 1966. Also, in the late
1970s, Martin was pleased to
collaborate on a graphic
design project with Larry
Shinoda, who had been one of
the principal stylists of the
legendary Corvette Stingray.
After Tom Roberts left the dealership, the new owners were Dennis
McCurry and Gene Higgins. The dealership was known as M and H
Chevrolet. They ran the dealership for twenty five years until 2006
when Fuqua and Hyder took over. The beauty of this new ownership
was that all the employees were retained and more employees were
hired.
Don Fuqua was born outside of Atlanta, Georgia and has been in the
car business for twenty five years. He is married to his lovely wife,
Judy, and has two grown and married children, a daughter and a son.
He loves to play golf and is a member of the Grassy Creek Country
Club. He and his family love living in Burnsville and feel privileged
to be able to enjoy the beauty of these inspiring mountains.
Gary Hyder was born and reared in Burnsville and comes from a long
line of Burnsville residents. He and his wife, Teresa, reside in
Weaverville, NC. They have two grown sons. One is studying to be a
college English professor. The other one works in the dealership.
Hyder has been in the car business for twenty two years and has
known Fuqua for fifteen years.
The block was designed by Martin Webster and installed by Keith
Beam. It was tricky to install and though it looks simple it took us two
hours! That is why we have featured Keith Beam and Martin Webster
in the photo of the block.
Be sure to see Don’s
great Pedal Car
collection in the
showroom.
Can you see the Corvette in the block?
There's a white one and a silver one - a front and rear view of each.
Below is the front of the car (left) as seen in the block, at right is the back.
State of North Carolina
Location: 10 Orchard Dr., painted by Kathy Rose and Barbara Webster, installed by
Keith Beam
Story by Wendy Bell
The small square that is displayed on the Yancey County Extension
office at 10 Orchard Dr. in Burnsville is large in history. For many rural
counties, the services provided by the agency were instrumental in
improving the lives of local women by teaching vital skills like canning
and quilting that often provided much needed income to farming
families.
When Eloise McIntosh and Marilyn Gulesian were selecting a pattern
and colors for the square, they looked for ties to the community and to
our state. The red, white and blue are the Cooperative Extension colors
and match the Extension logo. In addition, the red and white are for NC
State University and the blue is for A&T State University, the land grant
universities.
The quilt square was originally commissioned by Nell Rudolph, a former
Extension Homemaker, who was taught how to quilt by former Family
and Consumer Sciences Agent, Faye Stirewalt. However, we want to
honor all of the Family and Consumer Sciences agents beginning with
Mary Margaret Deyton, and continuing with Lucy Wilson, Pat Fender,
Faye Stirewalt, Linda Briggs, Denise Baker and Beverly Nelson. The
story from Nell is that Faye Stirewalt taught her to quilt and Nell has
since gone on to win awards for her quilts as well as sell them for a nice
sum of money. Ginny Banks gave a donation to help with the cost of the
quilt square and Yancey Cooperative Extension made up the difference.
Therefore, we thought it fitting to honor all of the Family and Consumer
Sciences agents.
Here is a little history about Extension in general and how the Family
and Consumer Sciences came about:
The Extension Service was authorized by the Smith-Lever Act and
designed as a partnership between the United States Department of
Agriculture and North Carolina State University, the land grant college
(which was authorized by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890). State
legislature enables local government bodies to become a third partner in
the system. The Extension Service of the United States Department of
Agriculture is the Federal partner of the North Carolina Cooperative
Extension Service, and the North Carolina Extension Service network of
professionals are available in every county of North Carolina.
The mission of the Cooperative Extension Service is to help people
improve the quality of their lives by providing research-based
information and informal educational opportunities focused on issues
and needs. One of the volunteer organizations of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
is the North Carolina Extension and Community Association. North Carolina Federation of
Home Demonstration Clubs was organized in Raleigh in 1920.
The name changed from Home Demonstration to Home Economics in the 1960s and then to
Family and Consumer Sciences in 1995, which is what it is today. Local clubs were once called
Extension Homemakers, but the name was changed in 2000 to Extension and Community
Association. An interesting side note is that for many years, members of the Ball Creek
Homemakers Club made quilts which were raffled off at the annual Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair. The
proceeds of the raffle provided scholarship funds for Mountain Heritage High School Students.
It is easy to understand the importance of these agencies not only to Yancey but also to all counties
in North Carolina. The name of the square—State of North Carolina—is very fitting indeed.
Star of Nutrition
Location: 615 West Main St., Burnsville. Drafted by Barbara
Webster, painted by Carol Bareford, Cheryl Hughes, Deborah
Palmer and Barbara Webster. Installed by Rich Voska
Burnsville Health and Nutrition is owned by Cheryl DeForest-Davis
who moved here from Florida where she had a health food store for
2.5 years. She had come here on vacation, fell in love with the area,
and decided to move here. “After seeing it I knew I just had to be
here.” This is the story of many people who have moved here.
After moving here, Cheryl got a job at Western Sizzlin, across the
parking lot. She says that every time she walked in or out of the
restaurant she noticed the For Rent sign in the window of the building
next to Phil’s Tire Service which faces Highway 19. Being a religious
person, she felt that God was opening doors for her so she inquired
about the rent and within 5 months of moving here she had opened a
new Health Food store for Burnsville.
Before Cheryl made it into a Health Food store, the building had been
a Christian Bookstore and before that a hobby shop. In trying to find
just the right quilt block for the store, two blocks were combined:
Concord Hymn to reflect the Christian Bookstore, and Star of Health
to represent Cheryl’s new Health Food store. By combining these two
blocks, a new block was created. Cheryl named her new block Star of
Nutrition.
Cheryl has now moved into a bigger space - immediately behind her
original store with more parking and an inviting porch. The new space
was another door opened to her. The tenant came into her store one
day and told Cheryl she was retiring. Cheryl immediately asked who
was going to get the space. The landlord didn’t even know yet so
Cheryl was able to make the connection she needed to move. Within a
few weeks of moving in Cheryl had her new quilt block hung.
David Peterson owns the building Cheryl is now in. He also owns the
building across the street that houses Little David’s and he owns the
Wishbones building.
School Girl’s Puzzle
Location: The Terrell House, 109 Robertson St., Burnsville. Drafted by Barbara
Webster, painted by Carol Bareford, installed by Mike Hoskins.
Terrell House was built around 1921 as a girls dormitory for the Stanley
McCormick School in the 1920’s and was converted to a B & B in 1991.
There was another dormitory on the vacant lot beside the current structure
that burned down. The foundation for that structure was used as a
swimming pool for several years. The school was on the opposite side of
the street from the Terrell House, and the buildings are used today for the
VFW and Mason’s Lodge.
Stanley McCormick School was established by the Presbyterian Church
and existed from 1898 to about 1921. The McCormicks were famous for
farm machinery and funded the school for many years. After 1921,
Carolina New College was formed and the house continued to be used as a
dormitory. The college closed in 1931. After that it was a private house
until the Terrells bought it in 1991 and it was converted to a Bed and
Breakfast. Mike and Laura Hoskins purchased the house in September
2006 and continue to operate it today for people seeking the mountains,
friends and family
The property has 6 beautifully appointed guest rooms all with private
baths, individual air conditioning, and sitting areas. Five have queen beds,
and one has twin beds. Two rooms have convertible sofas. There is a
separate sitting area, two fireplaces, and a library/TV room. Outdoors is a
gazebo and sitting area for the hot summer days and evenings. Breakfast is
served on fine china in a formal dining room. Pictures of each room can be
seen on the Virtual Tour by visiting www.terrellhousebandb.com. In a nod
to the history of the house, all the rooms have girl’s names.
Breadbasket Star
Location: 525 W. Main St. Drafted by Linda Walker, Painted by Art and Cathy
Kramer. Installed by Norm Rabek and Gene Borg.
This building has been many things over the years. The two story part
was built in 1926 and was a Mary Carter Paint Store with two one
bedroom apartments upstairs. The other side was built in 1953. Os
Deyton had a feed store across the street and rented the building for a
time and sold plants and fertilizer and this was Willoree Jobe’s first job
before she became Clerk of Court. In the early 80s the building was
used as a bakery for about four years. Then it was a music store, pet
store, furniture refinishing store and barber shop. Then it was Ye Olde
Country Store - an Amish food store which has recently moved to East
Main St (see the Amish Star) then it housed AdPro, and now it is
Burnsville’s first wine shop. Most remember it as a bakery, which is
why we picked the Breadbasket block for the building.
The siding and framing for the building is chestnut and the main
beams are 4x6 hand-hewn oak. Norm Rabek and Joy Boothe, the
current owners, bought the building in February 1990.
Floral Centerpiece
Location: 208 West Blvd., Burnsville. Drafted by Barbara Webster, painted
by Carol Bareford, Cheryl Hughes and Barbara Webster. Installed by Wade
Whitson of Whitson Electric in Spruce Pine.
Dorothy Wood is the owner of Burnsville Florist. She opened the
business December 2006. The building had one floor, at that time, but it
was mostly a shell of windows and walls. Gary Atkins built the building
and Dorothy’s husband, Bob, and Keith House bought it and finished it.
The second floor is still under construction.
Dorothy and her sister opened a flower shop in Ledger with no
experience, having both been in the dental profession. They wanted to
do something completely different and chose flowers. Dorothy told her
sister she would help her and after a few months of opening her sister
changed her mind about wanting to run the shop. Dorothy suggested
she hire someone to do it, but ultimately, Dorothy decided to carry it
forward.
This traditional quilt block
called Floral Centerpiece was
one of the first to be painted in
pastel colors. We wanted it to
look like an extravagant flower
bouquet.
This is not an easy quilt block
to make, though it would make
a spectacular quilt. It would be
a choice to use up all your
scraps, or it could be equally
wonderful made from solid
colors. The many pieces allow
for lots of play with color
placement which affects how
the block looks when
assembled. If 20 people made
the block, you would end up
with 20 completely different
looking quilts. That is part of
the great fun of quilt making.
Because Dorothy and Bob lived in Micaville they wanted something
closer in than Ledger and they wanted to own their own building. This
building kept beckoning to them and finally they bought it.
Dorothy says she has gotten plenty of on-the-job training. She has hired
two “really good” designers - Linda with 25 years experience and
Becky who works part time, has experience coupled with a natural
knack.
The shop is brimming with goodies other than flowers - stop in and take
a whif and get a delightful eyefull.
Molar Star
Location: Dr. Poling’s Dentist Office 302 W 19e Bypass. Designed by Martin
Webster. Painted by Carolyn Bareford and Martin Webster. Installed by Keith Beam.
Story by Maryallen Estes
Dr. Scott Poling came to Burnsville in 2008. He was born in
Barrackville, West Virginia which is near Morgantown West Virginia.
West Virginia University is located in Morgantown. West Virginia
University, being so close by, was the logical choice for Poling to
study for his dental career. After completing his education in dentistry,
Poling accepted a job with Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in the Cane
River Children's Dental Clinic. This was a natural choice for him
because he wanted to help in a rural area similar to areas in West
Virginia. Also to sweeten the pot, the hospital offered a student loan
repayment assistance program.
The inspiration for the quilt design was from a picture of a molar that
Dr. Poling had in his office. He thought it would be appropriate for his
dental business.
He and his family chose Burnsville, N.C. mainly because our winters
are warmer and the summers are comparable to W. Virginia. He states
"the people are wonderful here----we couldn't have settled in a better
place."
I heard from a very reliable source that Dr. Poling is an avid fisherman
and hunter. He takes great pleasure in fishing for rainbow and brown
trout. He shot his first turkey - a twenty pounder- on Baker's Creek Rd.
He also enjoys deer hunting. Dr. Poling is already fitting right in to the
culture of these beautiful mountains!
Moon and Star Over the Mountains
Location: Cultural Resources Center, Green Mountain Drive, across from the
Parkway Playhouse. Drafted by Barbara Webster, painted by Carolyn Bareford,
Cheryl Hughes, Christine Strom and Deborah Palmer. Installed by Norm Rabek.
The building where this block can be seen was once a dormitory
(Brown Dorm) for the Yancey Collegiate Institute which was across
the street (and is now being renovated to become our new library). The
building is now known as the Mountain Heritage Center which houses
the Cultural Resources Commission (CRC), offices, artist studios and
the Leslie Riddle Recording Studio.
Rotating exhibits of local artists’ works are on display and when you
stop to shoot pictures, plan to go inside to see some great art.
This is the only corner in town with a quilt block on every corner.
The Moon and Star Over the Mountain is a new block we created
based on the traditional Moon Over the Mountain block. We added the
star and extra mountains to hint at our rich heritage of artists,
musicians and actors and the setting in which they live, create and
perform.
Traveler’s Star
Location: 116 Green Mountain Drive, Burnsville, NC. Designed by Estela Shakelford,
drafted by Barbara Webster, painted by Estela Shakelford, Deborah Palmer and Barbara
Webster.
This two foot quilt block is based on the block called Mariner’s Compass and
was designed by Estela Shakelford. The block is one of four on this corner - the
only intersection in town with a block on all four corners.
Estela is a talented artist, working in clay, and fiber. Her studio, La Casa, is a
delight to visit.
Estela was born in Havana, Cuba. Her father moved the family to America when
she was 7. Estela married an Air Force pilot and traveled all over the orient. She
was in the Phillippines for two years, and then in Hawaii for two years. Later
she moved to Key West. In Key West she opened a business - Key West in Clay
- where she made in clay the Conch houses which were the historical Victorian
Homes that had been brought in by the sea captains in the 1920s and 30s. She
began nursing school when she was 27. After that her clay work became a
hobby.
Estela’s brother, Dr. Miguel Cruz, moved here in the early 90s. Estela used to
come and visit him for the holidays and loved the mountains and wonderful
temperatures. When her husband became ill and his illness made it difficult to
breathe hot, humid air, they moved to Burnsville. They liked the small town life
which reminded them of Key West. Since moving here, Estela has been teaching
Certified Nursing Assistants and Spanish through Mayland and she continues to
do her handbuilt clay.
The Traveler’s Compass quilt block (which she designed based on a Mariner’s
Compass block) was her choice for illustrating her life. She says she always
knew what a compass was and how to work it. Her extensive travels and life on
the water made it the perfect choice.
Estela is on the TRAC Studio Tour twice a year.
We owe Estela a huge thanks
for hosting our first gift shop
for over a year. She has been
a steadfast supporter of Quilt
Trails.
The Bard of Avon
Location: The Parkway Playhouse, Burnsville on School Circle.
Drafted by Ed Poppeliers, painted by Ulrike Poppeliers, installed by Jeff Phillips and Scotty
Cole, Country Cablevision. Purchased by the Women’s Club of Burnsville for the Playhouse.
This block couldn’t be more appropriately named for its location! (In case you don’t
know, The Bard of Avon is Shakespeare.) We found it in The Block Book by Judy
Martin.
The Parkway Playhouse was launched in 1947 by William Raymond Taylor, its first
managing director. It was known originally as The Burnsville Playhouse, Inc. It was a
repertory theatre-drama school following in the footsteps of The Burnsville Little
Theatre, which had been organized by Mrs. LeRoy Jackson in 1927, wife of the
president of Carolina New College, a 2-year college in Burnsville at the time. After a
dormant spell, the Little Theatre was revived in 1936 by Rush T. Wray, a graduate of
The Plonk School of Creative Arts in Asheville. He was a grandson of the founder of
The Ray Inn (now the Nu-Wray Inn) and was involved in the Inn’s Management.
Ultimately a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, linked to efforts by local people
with the help of the University of NC in Greensboro and the Veterans Administration
made the current Parkway Playhouse a reality.
Drama continues to play an important role in our community. The Mountain Heritage
High School students continually take first place honors at national competitions, and
many prominent people of Burnsville (including more than one mayor) have had
major roles in plays staged here. The Playhouse quilt block was a gift from the
Burnsville Woman’s Club.
New York Beauty
Location: The new library on School Circle. Drafted by Barbara
Webster, painted by Deborah Palmer, installed by Wade Whitson of
Whitson Electric, Spruce Pine.
Story by Theresa Coletta
This block took Deborah Palmer four
months to paint. No, she isn’t slow. But if
you look closely at the block you will
notice dozens of very small triangles and
each of them is perfectly painted. The red
paint we use requires 6 and sometimes 8
coats and we have to let it dry between
coats. Out of all the blocks on the quilt
trails, this one was one of the most
difficult to paint. The block is a
masterpiece of painting and our hats are
off to Deborah for a very fine job.(To see
more fine work of Deborah’s, view the
Lone Star on Julie Letterman’s house in
Bee Log.) A note to you quilters - the
New York Beauty block is also not easy to
make...for the same reason—all those
triangles!
The quilt block on this building has a unique feature in that it's quilting
threads tie the building's educational past to the present, a journey of over
100 years which will continue in today's 21st Century when the doors reopen (spring 2010) as Yancey County's new public library facility.
The current building on this site served as the second administration
building for the Yancey Collegiate Institute (Y.C.I.), a private Baptist school,
which opened its doors in 1901. By the time the school doors closed in 1926,
it was highly regarded as one of the area's leading private schools for
secondary education. The Y.C.I. buildings and grounds were sold to the
Yancey County public school system where the administration building
remained until 1992. The educational impact which the Yancey Collegiate
Institute had for a quarter of a century was recognized when it was placed on
the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 by the U. S. Department of
the Interior.
One of the most influential individuals responsible for the building
of the Yancey Collegiate Institute was a young lawyer, E. Frank Watson,
from Glenville, North Carolina, who arrived in Burnsville in 1892. He
was a charter member of the institute's board of trustees and served
numerous terms as chairman of the board. Mr. Watson married a Yancey
County native, Cora Ray Watson, but their marriage was short-lived by
her death in 1934.
Cora Ray Watson had several sisters with one of them being Lillie Ray
Chase. As young girls they were taught to quilt and hook rugs, a necessary
skill in the 1800's. Although no quilts survived Cora Ray Watson, some of
those quilted by her sister, Lillie Ray Chase, were passed down to her
children and grandchildren. The quilt block on this building is from one of
Lillie Ray Chase's quilts, a quilt which ties the building to one of its most
prominent founders, E. Frank Watson.
Cora Ray Watson was the great-aunt and Lillie Ray Chase the
grandmother of Theresa Coletta, who served for 25 years as the regional
library director with the AMY Regional Library System. Currently, Ms.
Coletta is serving Yancey County government as their library expansion
project director, renovating the Yancey Collegiate Institute's administration
building to house Yancey County's new public library.
The quilt square on the Yancey Collegiate Institute which now houses the new Yancey County Public
Library is a tribute to Ms. Coletta’s family, but it also is a tribute to her many contributions to public
library service in Yancey County and the three-county AMY Regional Library System. Ms. Coletta
was appointed as the first Children’s Librarian in the Region in 1969. She became Regional Director
in 1979. Under her leadership, buildings and services in all four libraries were expanded including a
new Regional Library Headquarters facility. Ms. Coletta introduced the idea of automated services
and public internet access in the 1990’s when few households had access to these services. During
her 25 years of service as the Regional Director up to her retirement in 2004, she implemented many
administrative and managerial policies on which the Regional Library System continues to build.
Ms. Coletta serveed the people of Yancey County as the Yancey County Public Library Expansion
Project Director.
Sneakers
Location: The Old Burnsville Gym on School Circle. Designed and drafted by
Barbara Webster, Painted by Carolyn Bareford, Deborah Palmer, Christine
Strom and Barbara Webster. Installed by Jeff Phillips and Billie Shade with
the help of Edward Silvers and Wade Whitson of Whitson Electric.
Story by Barbara Webster
The Burnsville Gym is the only indoor recreation facility free for
public use in Yancey county. Originally it was the gym for
Burnsville High School. Before the gym was built, students
played ball in the scenery shop behind Parkway Playhouse and
to this day there is a basketball goal in the scenery shop.
As years went by a leak developed in the West wall and
ultimately destroyed the floor, causing the County to close the
gym for safety reasons. In 2007, Colby Martin wrote a grant to
bring in funds to restore the gym. In September that year, work
began on the refurbishing with mostly volunteer labor.
The gym reopened in July, 2008 and now contains a new level
concrete subfloor with a bounceback tile overlay flooring on top
of that. New bathrooms and new paint round out the
refurbishing, which took 9 months. The gym has been a source
of pride for the community since the 1950s and is once again full
of lively games and is much used and appreciated by the
community.
This unique quilt block was
designed specifically for this
building using a sneaker as the
main design element. If you look
closely you can see the sneaker
that makes the star.
The line drawing makes perfect
symmetry, but in reality, when
color is added, the star is slightly
off because each sneaker must be
below the previous one and one
has to be on top. Can you see
which one is on top?
Witch’s Star
Location: 480 Bukeridge Rd. at the end of Aunt Effies Rd.(off Green
Mtn. Rd. near the Parkway Playhouse). Drafted by Barbara Webster,
painted by Dottie Buker and Ken Hoke. Installed by Mike Orr and Ken
Hoke
Dottie Buker is the proud owner of the Witch’s Star. She
says that her barn has a witch weather vane on the roof.
“My deceased husband used to call me the wicked witch (as
a term of endearment).”
The property used to be a dairy farm in the 40s. The small
house used to be the milking barn, but Dottie and her
husband built the larger barn to house their motor coach.
And Dottie says “The cow has never been in it!”
The property is not far from the Parkway Playhouse,
(maybe 2 minutes) and worth a trip up the side road to find,
as the setting is quite delightful.
Dottie’s husband had the weather vane made for her at her
request and the quilt square is to honor his memory.
Raspberries and Cream
Location: 110 E. Main St. Designed by Martin and Barbara Webster,
Painted by Deborah Palmer, installed by Keith Beam.
Story by Katie Webster
Mary Jane and Cass Beall, the pair behind Mary Jane’s BakeryCafé, are thrilled to bring their fresh, homemade foods to
downtown Burnsville. This vibrant breakfast and lunch spot
offers everything from delicate pastries to sandwiches and
quiches. The building on East Main took six months of
remodeling to get up and running. With hard work and help from
talented friends, the Bealls have created a welcoming space. The
attention to detail the owners have built into their endeavor
shows in everything: from the bright green walls, to the
handmade furniture, right down to the floors hand-painted by
Mary Jane. The creative spirit in the building itself is also
served up on the Bakery-Café menu. Many of the vegetables,
fruits, and meats in their recipes are sourced from the Beall’s
own farm and the Yancey County Farmer’s Market. Mary Jane
and Cass devote one wall of the restaurant to display work by
local artists as well as honey and other products.
Before opening Mary Jane’s Bakery-Café in May 2009,
Mary Jane and Cass were vendors at the Yancey County
Farmer’s Market for several years selling produce and baked
goods. Their own berry farm provided the fruits for Mary Jane’s
pastries and desserts at the Farmer’s Market. Her special recipes
take center stage at the Bakery. Their ever-popular homegrown
raspberries are part of Mary Jane’s signature dessert, a raspberry
cream cake. The luscious raspberries in their quilt block are a
sweet reminder of a dream come true for Mary Jane and Cass.
They’ve grown from berry farm to owning and operating their
own restaurant! The Raspberries and Cream block is also a sweet
reminder of the homemade treats waiting just inside Mary Jane’s
Bakery-Café.
Sawtooth Star
Location: The Colonial boarding house on E. Main St. Drafted by
Barbara Webster, Painted by Cheryl Hughes and Carol Bareford,
installed by Wade Whitson from Whitson Electric in Spruce Pine.
The Colonial, the house on which this block resides, is over 100
years old. Ruth Lewis Banks has lived in the house off and on
since she was 16.
Ruth was the Town Clerk (affectionately nicknamed “Madam
Clerk”) for 28 years. After she “retired” she was elected to the
Town Council and is now serving her second four year term.
Ruth chose the Sawtooth Star because her father was a
lumberman. He and her mother also operated a small store. After
they moved into the house where Ruth now lives, her grandfather
operated a general store, coal yard and sold fertilizer and seeds
next to the house. Just yards off the front porch, Ruth could
watch golfers tee off, driving golf balls across what is now the
19E bypass. You can see old pictures of the property in “The
Reason We Live in Yancey County” - the quilt at the Town
Center.
After Ruth married, she and her husband moved to Detroit,
Michigan where she lived for 22 years and raised two sons.
When her youngest son was in the 6th grade they returned to
Burnsville and moved into the house to care for her mother. After
her mother died they continued to stay in the house.
Today the house is a Guest house. An upstairs renovation allows
Ruth to house guests from across the country. Some patrons of
the Colonial enjoy their stay so much that they have permanent
reservations during the year so they are ensured a room.
When you come back to see more quilt blocks, maybe you can
stay at the Colonial.
Silver Threads and Golden Needles
Location: Needle Me This on East Main St. in Burnsville. Drafted by Barbara Webster.
Painted by Wayne Joyner.
Story by Fama Childs
The quilt shop known as Needle Me This was originally located where Clodhoppers is
now and was called Ye Olde Fabric Shoppe. It was owned by Becky Gillespie. Becky
sold the shop after 15 years of ownership to Carol and Stinson McCrosky and they
renamed it to Needle Me This and moved it across the street to 112 W. Main Street.
When Stinson and Carol decided to sell the shop and retire they didn’t find any buyers
at first. But one day Cherine Crist came in to buy supplies and learned they were going
to sell and/or close the shop. Cherine couldn’t stand the thought of losing the quilt shop.
So she went home and discussed it with her husband and he knew right away that it was
what she wanted to do and so Cherine became a quilt shop owner, after a career in
nursing.
While this block can be pieced,
probably the easiest way to
make it is by paper piecing.
You can get the pattern at
Needle Me This.
The McCrosky shop had been on two levels, with most of the fabric upstairs. Cherine
wanted everything on one floor, with more space, a bigger class room and ample
parking, so she planned and built a new facility for the shop. But most importantly she
wanted to continue the tradition of quilting here in Yancey County. Cherine says that she
has learned a lot from the local quilters who come in for classes.
Cherine feels that the “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” quilt block fits the business
perfectly.
The block was found in The Block Book by Judy Martin. If you look carefully, you’ll
see that the Double Duty star on the back of The Grapevine in town, is very similar, but
has an extra star in its center
Amish Star
Location: Ye Olde Country Store, E. Main St. Drafted by Deborah Palmer, Painted by
Deborah Palmer, Installed by Erick Andrews with the help of Whitson Electric’s bucket
truck.
Story by Susan Crutchfield
The quilt block chosen for Ye Olde Country Store is the Amish Star. The
store, which specializes in Amish food items, is owned by Carolyn
Raichle.
When the original owner of the store, December Harris, decided to
close it, the Raichles stepped in. They re-opened the store on West Main
in July of 2007 and then moved to their present location on East Main a
year later. Richard, who died unexpectedly in 2010, was originally from
Philadelphia and remembered many childhood visits to the Lancaster
Amish area. Perhaps that, as much as a love for the products they carry, is
why owning this store felt so right to them.
As perfect as it was for them, the store is ideal for its new location.
The land on which it sits has been in the Peterson family for generations.
Ruth Banks, a granddaughter, says that an old country store owned by her
grandparents, Jim and Kate Peterson, was in that exact location for many
years. One of her fondest memories is of visiting her grandmother in the
store on a daily basis and receiving a special piece of candy from her. Her
grandfather also owned a thrasher which he pulled behind a team of
horses and took all over the county to thrash wheat, barley and rye for
farmers. His pay was a portion of whatever he had thrashed. Part of this
was taken to Mr. English’s mill on Azalea Street for grinding. Both the
ground and unground product was then brought to the store and put up for
sale.
The land has actually had many lives. In its original state, it sat much
lower than it does today, well below the level of the road. It started out as
farmland, with many tobacco crops, corn fields and gardens grown there.
Like the Amish, the Petersons grew all of their own food, and Kate spent
much of her time baking, canning and preserving.
The Peterson land has also seen life as a coal yard and even for a time
was a field of junk cars. The old barn that sits nearby was the planing mill
for Ruth’s father, Henry Lewis, who had a lumber business out in the west
end of the county. Perhaps most interestingly, a golf course belonging to
the Mt. Mitchell Boys’ Camp abutted the land and ran back up over the
mountain where the bypass and Ingles sit now and continued on to the
camp’s main site. When Ruth Banks and her husband moved back to
Burnsville in 1971, they moved into her mother’s house, now known as
The Colonial, across the street. They decided to fill in the land next to
their house and bring it up to the level of the road. Her brother James
Lewis, who owned the property across the street, decided to do the same.
Larry Lewis, Ruth’s nephew, inherited the property and has now
renovated the old Peterson House, which sits nearby, for his home. He
also built and owns the buildings housing Ye Olde Country Store and
Needle Me This. The Amish Star pattern seems a fitting choice for this
land. As Amish families today rely on their land for their entire sustenance
and pass it down from generation to generation, so the Petersons lives
have been entwined with this particular area for much of the their history
and the history of Yancey County.
Broken Dishes
Location: New To You Furniture on East Main St., Burnsville.
Drafted by Barbara Webster, Painted by Cheryl Hughes, Carol Bareford and
Deborah Palmer.
Story by Jeanne Martin
Since the beginning of time, Craig [Jeanne and Craig Martin own
New To Your Furniture] has dealt with used stuff. As a child he sold
comic books. Later he bought and traded used row boats, fishing
gear, motors, etc. Still later he traded cars, trailers and then
furniture. He always saw value in recycling used things and knew
he could find deals and pass them on, making a little money along
the way.
This block is on the East side of
the building and you can easily
photograph it from the Radio
Shack parking lot.
Once we were married, people would ask me, “is that car new?” or
“did you get a new boat?” and my response would be “it’s new to
me.” When we opened the first shop in Micaville, the name just
popped up “New to You.” The shop was closed and later reopened
where Mimaw’s books is, now in Windom. The name was
resurrected in 1993 when the shop opened across from The Colonial
on East Main St. for half the year and next to D&R Furniture the
rest of the year before the new [and current] building was built in
1997.
The broken dishes pattern speaks to the variety of mishaps we have
encountered while doing business over the past 28 or so
years—from a trailer load of furniture that broke away from the
truck on a busy street in Orlando, to our son’s broken fingers after a
file cabinet landed on them, to someone’s pet boa constrictor that
may (or may not) have hidden in a sofa we just purchased and later
destroyed in a search for the snake.
Broken dishes, however, are an every day occurrence, and I marvel
at how a dish can stay intact for 80 or so years and we will break it
when it’s been in our possession just a few hours.
Circuit Board
Location: 603 East Main St. on the Radio Shack, Burnsville. Designed by
Martin Webster, painted by Carolyn Bareford, installed by Jeff Phillips.
This great block mimics a circuit board found in a computer and
can be seen on the side of the entrance to the Radio Shack. Larry
Banks, owner of the Radio Shack, is the brother of Tina Sink,
owner of Banks Jewelers next door.
The Banks family was in the floral business, the drugstore
business and once had a restaurant in the Banks Family Shopping
Center. After the death of their parents, Larry and Tina inherited
the drug store. They eventually sold the drugstore and invested
their money in the establishment of the Radio Shack and the
Banks Jewelry Store.
For you quilters, this block can be made almost completely with
strip piecing. If you extend some of the lines you can see how you
can create strips that will easily go together to create the block.
Basket of Diamonds
Location: 605 East Main St., Burnsville. Painted by Tina Sink, Holly Hall, Cheryl
Hughes, Carole Pearson, Margot Parker, Miriam Savard, Ken Hoke, Elizabeth
McIntosh and Christine Strom, installed by Jeff Phillips with the help of Wade
Whitson of Whitson Electric.
Story by Maryallen Estes
Tina Sink owes her worldwide view to her parents, Philip and Mary
Vance Banks. Over the years her parents were in several businesses
that took them on trips all over the United States. Of course, Tina
was with them most of the times on these trips. Her mother once won
a floral prize of a trip to Hawaii. Tina went with her. The Banks
family was in the floral business, the drugstore business and once had
a restaurant in the Banks Family Shopping Center. The drugstore was
also located in the Banks Shopping Center.
After the death of her parents, she and her brother inherited the drug
store. They eventually sold the drugstore and invested their money in
the establishment of the Radio Shack and the Banks Jewelry Store.
Not knowing much about the jewelry business, Tina attended a
jewelry repair school in St. Louis, Missouri. Later she attended a
watch repair school in Norfolk, Virginia. Equipped with these skills,
Tina has been successfully selling, and repairing jewelry and watches
since 1992.
Tina belongs to a jewelry buying organization that deals with
independent jewelers all over the world. This organization buys
jewelry in bulk, thus passing along the savings to its members. They
also hold shows for the retailers.
Tina updates her skills regularly by attending these jewelry shows
that offer seminars on new stones and new techniques. After the
educational day, they swing into the fun part, the buying of jewelry.
Tina's thirst for knowledge does not end here in the States. She has
been to Belgium twice to watch the rough diamonds cut and faceted.
After watching the process, she has purchased some of these
beauties.
She chose the quilt block, Baskets of Diamonds, because she was
fascinated with the two-way design. As one looks at the basket of
diamonds, suddenly there appears in the background a large diamond
that encompasses the center basket. The background diamond is the
shape of a diamond that fits into a ring--not like the diamonds in the
basket.
Tina is married to Michael Sink, President of Mark Media
Incorporated, the parent company of WKYK, radio station. She has
two step children, Jeremy Sink and Jessica Roland who each have a
son. Tina grins from ear to ear when she mentions the grandchildren.
Even though Tina has travelled far and wide, she says she is "just a down-home girl" and loves her
home town of Burnsville. What she loves most are the people. She respects their values of integrity,
honesty, trustworthiness, and their pride in the community. I found Tina to be friendly and a good
listener. She gives people her best service no matter how small the repair job or inquiry about her
products. Her products are a joy to observe.
The Moon and Star Block
Location: Dixie Styles Antiques on East Main St. Drafted by Ed Poppeliers, painted by
Catherine Boone, installed by Ricky Styles.
Dixie Styles has an antique shop on the very east end of Main St. right
across from Glen Raven. For many years, her husband Sam operated
Sam’s Oil company, and son Ricky still delivers oil for the new owner.
Dixie’s mother was able to fold a piece of paper and make one snip and
end up with a five pointed star. She taught her children how to do it and
you can get Dixie to show you how. Dixie says people came from miles
around to get her mom to show them how to do it. So Dixie chose the
traditional Moon and Star block to honor her mother.
The design for the original American Flag had 6 pointed stars, a design
George Washington apparently preferred. But Betsy Ross wanted a five
pointed star. The committee told her it would be too hard to make. She
pulled out her scissors, folded a piece of paper and with one snip made
the star. Thanks to Betsy and her one snip trick we have five pointed
stars on our flag.
We painted the block in starlight colors.
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The Railroad Crossing Block
Drafted by Barbara Webster, Painted by Tina Leskovic and Sharon Denning,
Installed by Ricky Styles. Location: Styles Corner - the Subway Sandwich Shop on
the east side of Burnsville on Hwy 19.
The building on which this block resides is the closest building in town
to the old Train Depot and the street that runs in front of the building is
called Depot Street.
Trains played a major part in Burnsville’s early history, moving timber
and minerals out to markets, and occasionally bringing in passengers.
The train tracks came to Burnsville in 1912. By 1913 tracks were
extended to Pensacola, Murchison and Eskota, having originally started
in Micaville. The Clinchfield Railroad came to own the Black Mountain
Railroad, and continued to own it for 42 years.
On April 1, 1955 the Black Mountain Railroad ceased to exist and
became the Yancey Railroad, a purchase made possible when local
citizens paid the Clinchfield $22,000 for their trackage, bridges, and the
1910-constructed Burnsville depot. Lumberman Bill Banks became the
Yancey Railroad’s first president, the youngest railroad president in the
United States (he was 33). He was behind the effort to save the railroad,
recognizing that the Burnsville community would be hit hard with the
loss of jobs without it. The tracks for the Yancey Railroad were damaged
and many completely washed away by the severe flooding in 1977.
Sadly, today no trains serve Burnsville and the Burnsville Train Depot
has been torn down.
Pictures of the trains can be seen in the quilt in the Town Center.
Circular Saw Block
Location: Heritage Lumber on 19e bypass on the East side of Burnsville. Drafted by Ed
Poppeliers, painted by Ulrike Poppeliers, installed by the talented fellows at Heritage
Lumber.
It has been fun to find just the right block for every location and this one
was especially delightful. Heritage Lumber, owned by Jimmy Ray and
David McIntosh was originally called Liberty Cash and Carry and owned by
Joe Horton from Erwin, TN, who had built it as an offshoot of his purchase
of part of the Yancey Railroad. He ran it until the spring of 1985 when
Jimmy Ray and David McIntosh bought it. David and Jimmy grew up
together in Burnsville. Both their parents were in retail.
This is another masterfully painted
block. Ulrike Poppeliers is one of
our most patient painters (she’s
also a quilter). She also painted
The Bard of Avon.
Jimmy’s folks were in the grocery store business (Ray Brothers Food
Center, started in 1941) - right beside the old post office (now where Curves
is located across the parking lot from Mountain Lifestyles Communities) which was the only shopping area in town at the time. In that “shopping
center” with Ray Brothers Food Center was a Ben Franklin Store and
Carolina Tire. Jimmy worked there for 10 years. The whole shopping center
burned in 1972...just after Ingles came to town and before the chain stores
showed up. Jeanne Ray Styles, Jimmy’s twin sister, says the fire was like
losing a member of the family.
In 1985 Joe Horton decided to consolidate his lumber business in Erwin,
TN, so Jimmy and David went in together and bought his business and
renamed it Heritage Lumber. They started with 9 employees and today have
30.
You can read about David McIntosh on the McIntosh Star page.
Toothbrush Star
Location: 534 E. US Hwy 19e Bypass. Designed by Martin and Barbara Webster,
Drafted by Deborah Palmer, Painted by Dot Gibbs, Katherine Hancock, Ethel Nash,
Mary Nelson and Christine Strom. Installed by Keith Beam.
Story By Rebecca Warner
Dr. John Renfro noticed that the quilt trail was becoming a source of
pride in the community. Because he has always been aware of projects
that affect the public and is involved in community support, he felt it
was only natural that he should display a quilt block on his dental office
building.
John, a Yancey County native, was born in the Higgins Clinic. He
and his wife Suzette are considered stalwarts in community initiatives.
He is past chairman of the Yancey County Board of Commissioners,
and currently he is involved with his church where he serves on several
committees, and is also a member of the Fall Creek Masonic Lodge.
John graduated from Chapel Hill in 1978 and practiced public
health dentistry for two years before buying the private practice of Dr.
Ransom in 1980. In 2000, he moved his practice to the building where
the Toothbrush Star quilt block hangs.
While John is a dentist by profession, his wife, Suzette, an Asheville
native, is a part-time nurse who also does community assessments and
grant writing.
She works at the Grandchildren's Health Service Toe River nonprofit, doing programming and infrastructure development to help
children lead healthier lives.
After 25 years of marriage, the couple is “still on their
honeymoon.” They are now working only three days a week, taking
more time to engage in some of the finest outdoor activities to be found
here in Western North Carolina.
The couple likes to hike into the woods and pitch a tent and camp.
John takes a great deal of pleasure in fishing, and subsequently enjoys
the reputation of being an avid fisherman—something he does not feel
he deserves. After all, he would like to be doing more fishing so that he
can be worthy of that distinctive title.
Suzette thinks he solidly belongs in the avid fisherman category!
While she doesn't have the same passion for fishing as John, she does
get a lot of pleasure from joining him on the back-to-nature trips where
they can simply be together.
Whether they are together enjoying all the beauty and peace nature
has to offer, or together working to build a better community, they feel
fortunate to be sharing their lives.
And that gives them a lot to smile about.
Writer’s Block
Location: 235 Rocky Springs Heights. Drafted and painted by Caitley Symons,
installed by Mike Orr.
Story by M. Seth Davis
Quilting and journalism have more in common than one would
suppose. In fact, early American quilters may have been some of
our country's first journalists using their talents in order to tell a
story, to preserve a history, or to relay a message. Even the
gathering together of individuals while developing a quilt became
an avenue to spread the gossip of the recent goings-on of town.
Slaves in the pre-Civil War America would jump at the chance to
gather together and piece a “message quilt”. The women would
secretly inform each other of their masters' agenda while they
produced the “Log Cabin” quilt design. During this time the “Log
Cabin” quilt block meant that the home was a safe haven for the
slave who was running to freedom. Today through Quilt Trails, we
are able to express, discover, and preserve the stories of our past
and present.
To the Yancey County native, Arney Fox, the reporting of stories
was a passion. He graduated Brevard College in 1935 as a
journalism student. In 1940, he married Trena Presnell and in
1951 they purchased Burnsville's only newspaper, The Yancey
Record. At that time, a yearly subscription was two dollars and
fifty cents, and a column-inch of advertising was thirty-five cents.
The couple's love of journalism and their loyalty to the community
outweighed financial reward; so it wasn't long before Trena
became the acting editor while Arney took on a more profitable
job to help pay for the expenses that it took to run a newspaper.
The Fox daughters, Sandra and Lisa, also chipped in when they
could, folding and stacking the papers. Looking back on those
days, Trena remembers the trade as being both “hard and
interesting”. The hard task was not just paying the bills but
keeping the old, cantankerous, hand-run, linotype in running
condition in order to print a weekly paper. Although cash flow was
always a challenge, the fun part was that Trena and Arney often
bartered advertising space for vacation venues along the East
Coast.
The couple sold the “Record” in 1969, but not before leaving their
fingerprints upon Yancey County and its residents. The Fox family
has chosen the “Writers Block” quilt design to preserve their story.
Balance
Location: Corner of 197 and Hwy 19e. Painted by Deborah Palmer, installed by Jeff
Phillips.
Story by Karen Strickland
Balancing public service and personal attention. Balancing
dedication to the community as a whole with the dedication
to individual residents. These are not easy challenges, but it
is upon these principles that Burnsville and Yancey County
were founded. Founding fathers Bartlett Yancey and
Captain Ottway Burns served their region and country—as
well as residents—setting the stage for a community of
beauty, vibrancy and history for the many generations that
have followed.
It is this balance that today inspires the service provided by
United Community Bank. United came to this community
in 2003, and has dedicated itself not only to the finest
service and personal attention to each individual customer,
but also a commitment to the community as a whole.
United's interest in Burnsville's robust business community
and its residents' commitment to each other and their home
town made the decision to come to Burnsville an easy one.
All this fits nicely with United Community Bank's
corporate philosophy of balancing the personal attention of
a hometown bank, with the products/services of a large
bank. “Treating customers how we expect to be treated” is
the credo under which United Community Bank has
operated since its founding in 1950. Beginning its 60-year
history as Union County Bank in Blairsville, Georgia,
United has today grown to a bank with more than 100
locations in markets throughout North Carolina, Georgia
and Tennessee. A STRONG bank with STRONG service.
More importantly, even with its growth and decades of
success, United Community Bank has continued its
commitment to customer service. In fact, the bank today is
recognized nationally as providing among the best service
in the banking industry.
This focus on customer service is alive and well in our
Burnsville bank. From its modest beginnings in a local
shopping center, to its current modern facility built on land purchased from Dean and Kay
Pittman who owned and operated Yancey Mobile Homes, United Community Bank has
never lost sight of the reason for its success in Yancey County: its customers and
neighbors. Prior to the Pittman’s, Johnny Burleson owned the property and managed a
country store and gas station then later closed the store and opened Burleson Tire. This
piece of real estate certainly has a history of serving the community.
The dedicated and experienced bankers at United Community Bank in Burnsville each day
balance this customer focus with commitment of service to the community. Whether
behind the teller window, on the local ball field or at a civic function United bankers are
involved in all aspects of Burnsville life. It’s this spirit that is captured in the pattern of our
quilt square.
As United Community Bank North Carolina Chairman, Greg Hining, says, “we chose this
pattern because it speaks to what we strive to achieve: the balanced integration of our
community-based business model into each community we serve. This balance is best
achieved by hiring a staff of local bankers who live in the same community they serve, and
by actively involving them in the community with the full backing and support of our
bank.”
It all comes down to balance: balancing work life and home life, customer care and
community involvement, and helping the individual as well as the region as a whole. It’s
not easy, but it’s something that ALL Yancey County residents have done since the county
was established 1833.
“We care deeply for Yancey County and all the communities we service,” Greg Hining
says. “We are committed to helping the families, schools, businesses and the local
economy to grow and prosper.”
We ARE United Community Bank … The Bank That SERVICE Built.”
Water Lily and Church Windows
Location: 739 Hwy 197N. Painted by Carole Pearson, Kathy Rose, Ken Hoke, and
Jane Greene. Installed by Keith Beam.
Story By Teleia Tollison
Water Lily
Sometimes, it is nice to indulge and take two. That is exactly what
Reverend Jack and Melissa Michaels did. Along with their home, they
had a storage building on their property, thus choosing to create one
quilt square of Church Windows and one named Water Lily, so each
building would have its own block. The Michaels simply loved the
beauty of the quilt blocks around the county and decided to contribute
to the project. With the help of Barbara Webster, they designed their
blocks. Since Rev. Michaels is a retired Southern Baptist minister, the
choice for Church Windows is obvious, but Water Lily is not as clear. A
love of the land that goes back to his childhood steered Jack and
Melissa to a return to rural life upon his retirement; however, they did it
the hard way by taking a distressed property and revitalizing it. Part of
that process was landscaping and adding a waterfall to it.
Rev. Michaels' move to Yancey County in 2000 was coming home to
his roots. His grandmother, Sallie Mae Williams who died in 1972, was
born and raised in Yancey. Her father was a School Master. Robert Lee
Michaels, Jack's grandfather who died in 1981, was Chief Deputy of
Buncombe County Sheriff's Department under Sheriff Brown for over
30 years. Jack grew up near this area on a farm in Weaverville. Another
big reason for his locating in the area was his term as minister in
Bakersville.
Church Windows
As a little boy, Jack loved to play on the farm. His other memorable
childhood activity was church. He has always had a special love of the
church, but in the beginning he did not see ministry as his career. He
attended North Buncombe High School and started life as an adult.
Then in his thirties, he was in church one Sunday and felt the Holy
Spirit urging him to preach. He enrolled at Fruitland Baptist Bible
Institute and upon graduation began his true vocation.
He had many wonderful experiences as a Southern Baptist minister, but
one place that stands out is White Oak Baptist Church where he spent
seven years. White Oak was a mission-minded church. Under his
leadership, they were dedicated to missions both locally and in
Southern West Virginia. Jack has no church at present, but he remains
in the service of the Lord.
Even though he is not on a farm today, he loves working in the yard.
The Michaels also enjoy camping, fishing, and shooting. They take
pleasure in spending any remaining time with their four children:
Loren, Travis, Laura, and James.