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The Volunteer Auxiliary of Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville is taking applications for eight $2,000 academic/ need-based scholarships to be awarded to graduating high school seniors in the hospital’s service area. Applications available through local school guidance counselors or email ScholarsLNRMC@aol.com. Candidates must complete application and provide documentation of acceptance into accredited healthcare education program. Deadline is April 1. |
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Girls in kindergarten or first grade and living in Cornelius, Huntersville or Davidson are invited to join the Meck 1 Service Unit for a special Girl Scout Daisy recruitment event 10-11 a.m. Feb. 13 at Meadowlake Church, 6501 Gilead Rd., Huntersville. Girls will rotate through four stations, making fun crafts and singing Girl Scout songs. Parents will listen to a special presentation about joining the Girl Scout organization. Admission is free but you must RSVP to attend. RSVP: 704-631-3740 or by emailing daisydayreg@meck1girlscouts.or g |
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If you have an interest in learning the game of Bridge or want to develop your playing, bidding and defense skills, join the Lake Norman Bridge Center. All ages and levels are welcome. Classes take place at Cornelius Town Hall, 21445 Catawba Ave. Details: Marlene or John Smith at 704-992-1260. Lake Norman Bridge Center meets in Community Hall for the following classes and times: Intermediate Lessons, noon-4 p.m. Mondays; Novice Games/Non Life Master Game 9:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. Tuesdays; and Sanctioned Games 12:30-4:30 p.m. Thursdays.
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New and gently used towels can be dropped off for Lydia's Loft at any Aquesta Bank branch during February. Lydia’s Loft provides new and gently used clothing, shoes, towels and bedding free of charge to needy residents of North Mecklenburg and South Iredell. Laura Rose of Cornelius, a 10th grader at Charlotte Catholic High School, is working with Aquesta Bank and asking for new or gently used towels to be donated to Lydia’s Loft. Branches are located in Cornelius, Davids on and Mooresville. |
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The FLW Bass Fishing League is headed to Lake Norman Feb. 13 for the first of five stops in the North Carolina Division series. As many as 400 pro and co-anglers will be competing for top awards of up to $8,000 and $3,000, respectively. Anglers will take off from Midway Marina located at 8693 Highway 150 East in Terrell at 7 a.m. Weigh-in will be held at Midway Marina as well beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. Detail: FLWOutdoors.com or 270-252-1000. |
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The Nook will celebrate its first birthday with an open house 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat., March 13 with free chair massage, reflexology, holistic nutritional guidance, feng shui/interior design tips, qi gong and more. The Nook, 19621 W. Catawba Ave., is owned and operated Elizabeth Reavis and Marsha Cook. |
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Feb. 1: The Town Commissioners tonight awarded Republic Services a five-year contract for trash, recycling and yard waste services; appointed Julie Miller and David Stroud to the Historic Preservation Commission; accepted a bid from JD Goodrum for field site work for the Westmoreland Athletic Complex; and gave a thumbs-up to the Lake Norman Regional Bike Plan. |
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The Cornelius and Huntersville Parks and Recreation Departments will offer Senior Softball in the Lake Norman area again this spring for adults age 50 and better. The Ralph Lambert Senior Softball League of Lake Norman games will be played on Wednesday nights and will consist of a 10-game regular season with an end of the season tournament. Registration is through March 12, with a Skills Day 9 a.m. March 13 at Torrence Chapel Park in Cornelius. A Players Meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 10 at the Huntersville Parks and Recreation Department, 12600 Old Statesville Road, Huntersville. The cost is $30 for residents; $45 for non-residents. Registration, details: 704-896-2460 ext. 160. |
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The Cornelius Police Department and Proshred Security will hold a free Shred-a-Thon 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., March 20 behind Town Hall. Residents may bring any paper documents to be safely destroyed. The goal is to help protect residents against identity theft by shredding personal documents such as obsolete tax documents, bank statements/cancelled checks, financial statements, insurance documents and business records.
Details: Sgt. George Brinzey or Officer V. Williams, 704-892-1363, ext. 254 or email gbrinzey@corneliuspd.org or vwilliams@corneliuspd.org.
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Applications are available for the summer junior volunteer program with the Volunteer Auxiliary of Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, Mooresville. The program is for high school students in grades 9-11. Applications may be obtained 8 a.m.-4 p.m. from the Visitor Desk at the hospital’s main Visitor Entrance or online at www.LNRMC.com (go to careers; volunteer opportunities; junior volunteer application) and at high school guidance departments. Application deadline is March 29; interviews will be held in April. Details: Bette Weese, 704-528-1737 or Amico Colaianni, 704-660-3574. |
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| TARTE |
The Cornelius Planning Board is recommending new rules that could loosen up some of the regulations covering banners and flags for small businesses. Whether it's enough to please local retailers is another matter. |
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The students in the Our Towns Habitat for Humanity Youth United program in Cornelius have been awarded a $10,000 matching grant by State Farm. This money is going toward their Youth United house that they will begin building this February.
The youth volunteers are required to raise a matching amount.
Youth United has scheduled these fundraisers: Lake Norman High School Chapter Candy Grams sale Feb. 8-12; North Meck High School and Cannon School Basketball Game in March; and Our Towns Habitat’s Youth United 3rd Annual Car Show at the ReStore in April. |
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Programs in February at the Cornelius branch of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system, 21105 Catawba Ave. |
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Feb. 3: Michelle Alexander will join Cannon School as head of Lower School (grades junior kindergarten-4) effective July 1. Alexander currently serves as director of Diversity Programs and Community Outreach at the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, Ohio. |
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JOANNE AHERN
Seniors Columnist |
February is the month of hearts in bloom, Valentine's Day and National Heart Month. Because there is no heart disease in my family, I never gave cholesterol much thought. Now that I have a less active job, my numbers have been climbing to the point where it is time to do something about it; heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women. In my case, a change in lifestyle and aging were two risk factors, one over which I had no control and the other I knew would take some focus and planning. |
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Here's the February Activity Schedule for the North Mecklenburg Senior Center. |
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JOANNE AHERN
Seniors Columnist |
It's January 2010 and you know what that means? Yup, New Year's Resolutions. I suggest to you that a great New Year's Resolution would be to relax more. |
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| MARSHA COOK Silver Threads Columnist |
“When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves.”
— Dogen (Buddhist/Philosopher)
How beautiful, simple and elegant a question. Is it one you can answer? Will you take this query and in moments of quiet contemplation seek the answer? What is your truth? What does that mean? |
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| MARSHA COOK Silver Threads Columnist |
One of my own greatest challenges is not reacting in judgment when I feel threatened (by other drivers is a great example,) disrespected or judged by another. More often than not our reactions are a reflection of the energies we are receiving. |
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There's some great dogs and cats to be had!
Click on full story for the Cornelius Animal Shelter Inventory |
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Jamie Tanenbaum never thought she’d breastfeed her child. She was bottle-fed and no one in her family had breastfed their children.
But then she started to practice a more natural way of living, and she and husband Jason were expecting their first child. Zachary turned 2 in June.
Of course, the expectant mom wanted what was best for her child. “After I realized the advantages, it was a no-brainer,” she says of her choice to breastfeed.
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Hunting seems to be a real controversy among environmental advocates. Is hunting good or bad for the environment?
Like so many hot button issues, the answer to this question depends upon who you ask.
“There’s no question that hunting is beneficial for the environment and that hunters are environmental advocates,” says David Stukbauer, owner of Lake Norman Sporting Arms in Cornelius.
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Washington may not have slept here,
but Cornelius is alive with history |
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| Jack Conard: To long-time residents, “old” Cornelius is simply “Cornelius” |
By Dave Yochum
If the past informs the future, as the saying goes, then we should be more careful about what’s left of Cornelius history. It’s fast disappearing in big ways and more subtle ways. For example, the correct way to pronounce “Jetton” (as in Jetton Road) is J’tun with the accent on the second syllable. In light of the extraordinary increase in our population, the number of long-timers who know how to say the family name are minuscule compared to the number of newcomers who say J’ton, rhymes with on.
But there’s a difference, and it’s an important, since it matters how one’s name is pronounced. One should be aware that long-time, multi-generation residents of Cornelius refer to the old part of town as Cornelius; newcomers, of course, refer to the original Cornelius as “Old Cornelius.”
Generations of Mount Zion Methodist kids knew there was at least one spring back behind the outdoor sanctuary where Revolutionary War soldiers slaked their thirst. It was plowed over earlier this year by the developers of Antiquity.
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| Distinguished gathering: Men of Smithville many years ago. Can you identify any? |
Look on an old map and you’ll see Bethel Church Road was called River Road before Duke Power dammed the Catawba River.
James E. “Jack” Conard Jr. knows all these things well. He lives in a house built sometime before 1905, the year Cornelius was incorporated. He grew up playing up and down Main Street, and hiking down River Road with the Boy Scout troop at Mount Zion.
More importantly, he is one of a handful of people actively trying to preserve the town’s past. He has thousands of old photos filed away, preserved as best he can in the confines of his own makeshift museum, a house that looks like it could suffer in a stiff breeze.
But it’s home and it has been home to members of the family for three generations. Almost every square inch of the interior walls are decorated with old photos and magazine covers and even calendars from car dealers in the Packard era.
The kitchen is the nerve center of this combination research lab, archeology exhibit and art show. Conard is the curator, having started as a boy collecting this and that, a church bulletin here, an old newspaper there. He researches families through graveyards, census data and personal interviews.
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| 1944: Atwell Motor Co. calendar |
He stores electronic images of photos on a personal computer, next to a phone, a flatbed scanner and a view of his back yard, the scene of many Labor Day parties. There is no air conditioning, but thanks to screen doors and full-grown trees, the house is comfortable. He turns WDAV off when opera kicks in on Saturday.
On a recent summer morning Conard is excited to learn that a member of one of the oldest families in Cornelius is still quite alive, albeit in a nursing home in Charlotte. He is making plans to visit her, with photos in need of proper names and a little background.
“What I’m working on mainly is getting names on pictures, stories on people, who was married to who and who worked where,” Conard says. Fascinating stories abound. The scion of a plantation family, Clifton Eugene Smith, saw to it that black families had sufficient land for their own community, now known as Smithville.
Conard’s father moved here from Thomasville and worked for the sheriffs department for many years. James E. Conard was part of the Mecklenburg County rural police in the 1950s.
Jack Conard Jr. remembers the Confederate Reunion held for decades on the grounds of Mount Zion the first week in August. Once the last Civil War reunion was held in 1949, a carnival came every year, setting up on the ball field near Legion Street. Like most every youngster in Cornelius, Conard would save money all summer and spend every penny when the carnival was in town.
Halloween came next and the seven Caldwell sisters went all out. Conard says they dressed up like witches and served hot chocolate from an old cauldron in front of their house on North Main where Patrick Joseph & Associates is now located. Out of the seven sisters, only two were married, so the tradition lasted many years. Christmas was a quieter affair, with the annual Christmas parade being a newer phenomenon.
Conard says the parade started in the late 1980s, when he started wanting to preserve Cornelius history. In 1989, he began meeting with a group of Cornelius people who have breakfast every Saturday at a fast-food restaurant and visit with each other. Now, 20 years later, some are in their 80s and Conard himself is 62 and not particularly well. He has recently had quadruple bypass surgery. Recovery has been slow.
Conard still goes, despite a cough that indicates fluid in his longs. “It’s a good way for me to ask them questions about things I can’t remember. There are less and less of the old timers around here anymore,” he says.
Time is running out to collect the stories and photos and put them in a safe place. Some people want Conard’s photo collection to go to Davidson College. Some have suggested UNC-Charlotte, which has appropriate preservation capabilities.
It’s been a two-decade labor of love. What happens if he is hit by a car tomorrow? “No telling,” Conard says. He and his mother (“Don’t mention her name or she’ll be mad.”) are the only members of the family left.
“There’s no way to preserve anything anymore,” he says.
History in Cornelius
While there is a small historical exhibit at Cornelius Town, some serious history is collected in the “Smith History Room,” a sizable collection at Mount Zion Methodist Church. Named for Miriam Whisnant’s parents, Mary Reid Smith and Clifton Eugene Smith — the benefactor of Smithville, the collection is open to the public by appointment.
Mrs. Whisnant, who spent five years on the Historical Commission, says the huge influx of people from other parts of the country means there’s less interest in town history than there might be. Everyone’s sense of roots is somewhere else, it seems.
Indeed, a proper town museum is not high on the agenda at Town Hall.
The first step toward a town museum is to collect “all of our treasures and stories, so as not to lose them,” says Mayor Jeff Tarte. “We need to find a place of safe keeping until we can publicly display them at some future date. We need somebody to step forward and take on this critically important task.”
To visit the Smith History Room, call Mount Zion at 704-892-8566. |
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The Town of Cornelius Department of Parks, Arts, Recreation and Culture and the Community Arts Project are presenting a new exhibit by artist, Gordon C. James through Feb. 26 at the Cornelius Arts Center, 19725 Oak St., and and the Cornelius Town Hall galleries. An opening reception in January was postponed because of inclement weather and has beed rescheduled for with the artist will be held 7-9 p.m. Fri., Feb. 26 at the Cornelius Arts Center. |
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The Huntersville Brass quintet will perform 6 p.m. Sat., March 6 at the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church sanctuary as part of the Cornelius Concert Series. The church is located at 19600 Zion Ave. A freewill offering will be taken. |
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The Hope House Foundation's "Heart of Hope" event will be Sat., Feb. 13 at the Birkdale Golf Club starting at 6 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Hope House Foundation whose mission is to serve homeless women and children from the Lake Norman area. Tickets are $25 per person and may be purchased online at the Hope House web site, www.hopehousefoundation.org , or by check made payable to the Hope House Foundation, PO Box 61, Huntersville 28078. More info: Chris Anthony 704-960-1835 or email thehopehouse@att.net. Honorary chairs for the evening are Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain and Jack Grossman from the Dove House. Jeff Crum, Chief Meteorologist at News 14 will lead the ceremonies. |
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A Chocolate & Wine Tasting will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 13, featuring sample wines and chocolates selected by La Parisienne Fine Chocolate Shoppe. Learn the art of pairing fine chocolates and wines. The event is sponsored by and will be held at Point of Grace Lutheran Church, 20700 N. Main St. Suite 104, Cornelius. Appetizers and beverages will be provided following the event. Free childcare provided; donations to a teen mission trip accepted. RSVP, details: Pastor Frank or Terri Ruffatto, 704-248-2776. |
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Warehouse Productions will present Neil Simon’s “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers” at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays Feb. 11-13, Feb. 18-20 and Feb. 25-27. House and beverage bar open at 7 p.m. A matinee is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Feb. 14.
Tickets are $15 and available via email at tickets@warehousepac.com, phone at 704-619-0429 or online at www.warehousepac.com. The Warehouse is located at 9216-A Westmoreland Rd. in Cornelius, off Highway 21. |
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The North Mecklenburg Republican Women will host Robin Hayes, former 8th Congressional District Representative, Tues. Feb. 9 at NorthStone Club, 15801 North Stone Drive, Huntersville. He will discuss the 2010 elections. Tickets, by reservation, are $20 and can be made by emailing nomeckrw@gmail.com. Registration begins 6 p.m.; buffet dinner 6:30 p.m. The event is open to the public. Details: nomeckrw@gmail.com. |
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Core Fitness, 20035 Jetton Rd. #B, Cornelius, will host a Zumbathon 10-11:30 a.m.Sat., Feb. 13 to benefit Loaves and Fishes at the Ada Jenkins Center, Davidson. Non-perishable goods, hygiene items and monetary donations will go to the food pantry. Businesses will provide give-aways, food and sample services. Non-members welcome.
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The second annual Marina/Boating Safety Day at the Peninsula Yacht Club will be held 1-5 p.m. Sat., May 15. The event – with demonstrations, children’s activities, boating displays and opportunities to speak with representatives from organizations – is open to the public. The organizations include: Mecklenburg County Lake Patrol, Sea Tow of Lake Norman, Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Sail and Power Squadron, Cornelius Fire Department, Light House Marine Service and Sea Ray of Lake Norman. Details: 704-895-8996, ext. 28. |
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Southlake Christian Academy is hosting its Annual Athletic Department Golf Tournament Fundraiser and seeking additional sponsors. Bob Evans Restaurant already has signed on as a sponsor for the March 19 tournament at the Verdict Ridge Country Club in Denver. Door prizes, goody bags, food and beverages, trophies and silent auction items are also needed. All funds raised will be used to fund the growth and expansion of the Huntersville school’s Athletic Department.
Details: David Thornton, 704-363-0086 or dthornton@alsco.com. |
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| PORTA |
Being a good cook seems to be hereditary in Hilary Porta's family.
“I grew up loving to cook — between my mother, who was a gourmet cook and my grandmother, I started young,” the Tennessee native says. |
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| LIGHT |
Gail Light grew up learning to cook from a really good cook — her mother.
Light has a creative soul and while her mother was a good cook, she wasn't an inventive one. “I liked helping in the kitchen and then as a young married got interested in more adventuresome cooking,” says Light. |
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Fidler Lane was named after David and Carrie Fidler, who owned 52 acres that ran from what is now a peninsula off Norman Island Drive to Highway 73.
Grandson Merlin Fidler, 72, grew up on the property that was a small working farm where the family raised what they needed to put on the table.
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When the 911 emergency service went into effect, a dirt road off of Coachmans Trace near the eastern end of Washam Potts Road, needed an official designation. It was given the name of three generations of a family who lived at the very end of the dead-end lane where they farmed about 20 acres.
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These are recent property transactions in Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville as recorded by the county Register of Deeds in Mecklenburg. |
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These new businesses in Cornelius and Davidson have registered with the N.C. Secretary of State. |
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