Hazelwood School

 I spent the first six years of my educational life at Hazelwood Elementary School. Hazelwood was a very small mill town on the outskirts of WAYNESVILLE…the separate town no longer exists as it has been incorporated into WAYNESVILLE itself.  There is now a new elementary school and the old building has been repurposed as the headquarters for FOLKMOOT, a world wide folk arts organization.

But…the old auditorium has been restored as a wonderful performance space.  This week I got to tell stories there, right in my old school auditorium!

It was a sold out house and many of my old school mates were there. It was really fun for me to look out into the audience as I told stories that actually happened in that space.

Special guests in the audience included my cousin, Nancy Carol, and her husband, Gordon.  They brought Nancy Carol’s mother, my Aunt Nancy, from where she now lives in Asheville.  She is my mother’s last surviving sister and is about to turn ninety-five years old. She is bright and fun! The next day we visited her at her home at the Brooks-Howell Retirement Home.

I also got to take Trish around the old school and show her memory places.  Here I am standing right by the door of the room where my mother taught second grade. She taught at Hazelwood for 38 years.  When she started, Mr. Lawrence Leatherwood was the principal and his little boy, Larry, was in her room. When she finished teaching there, Larry himself was her principal! Lots of memories!

From South Dakota to Nebraska

 After our rest days in Custer, Trish and I headed across South Dakota to get back to work.

As we departed we were going to take the Needles Highway through Custer State Park, but, we discovered that they had closed that road for the winter.  We did, however, get as far as Sylvan Lake in the Park before the road was closed.  Just this one view was worth the entire drive.  It was otherworldly.

There were also plenty of deer to see on this drive.  After a while we lose count as they seem to be everywhere.  Along the major highways there are frequent seasonal light-up signs warning drivers to keep special lookout for deer.  There are so many they are a real danger.

After a Saturday workshop in Canistota, South Dakota, we drove down to Nebraska to a monastery called St. Benedict’s.  This was the setting for a four day retreat with the American Baptist Church Ministers’ Council.  We had a lovely time.

Each day started with early breakfast and this was our morning scene as St. Benedict himself presided over the sunrise.