Archive for April, 2007
Carrboro isn’t commerical; it’s community
By Liz Thomas
Co-editor
Joining the staff of the Commons in January, all I knew about Carrboro was that it was a town of hippies. But of all the times I passed through, I had never seen any barefooted flower-power children that matched my pre-conceived notion of a hippie. I was aware of Carrboro’s love for organic, locally grown vegetables, and I worried I would be limited to writing about produce.
Paris of the Piedmont?
What if this small town would not have enough to offer a staff of journalists? Carrboro had never had a newspaper when the Commons started last fall, and maybe that was for good reason. To me, Carrboro was just a destination of the J Bus that I rarely visited because I was stuck in the university bubble of Chapel Hill.
I thought Chapel Hill was a stronger community because, even abroad, I can find someone wearing a Tar Heel baseball cap. This instant bond with Tar Heel fans is the same as my bond with ATLantians. Growing up in a famous city made me think that I had a strong community — a community that drank Coca-Cola, held Olympic Games and discussed the Braves when conversations went dry.
How could Carrboro-ites have a strong community? There is no easily recognizable, unifying symbol that defines Carrboro.
Maybe it is the advertising major in me, but I wanted to brand Carrboro. The Paris of the Piedmont did not suffice. Unless there were a breathtaking tower or a world-renowned museum that I somehow overlooked, Carrboro could not hold a candle to Paris.
Talent without the fame
When attending The Second Friday Art Walk for my first story, I discovered that Carrboro is an infinite creative outlet. Its impressive arts and music scene was enough to have me in awe. I had never noticed it before because Carrboro promoted local artists without the need of bringing in famous speakers or talents. Atlanta and UNC had conditioned me into thinking that towns had to be commercialized in order to be great. Without bragging rights of impressive enhancements, Atlanta and UNC would lose creditability
and hype; they would lose money.
But something besides money compels Carrboro to provide a rich array of opportunities and events.That was the difference between Carrboro and the communities I once considered more enriched.
Bigger isn’t always better
Community means something different in Carrboro. Bigger isn’t better for this small town. The people have a close-knit community with fairs and markets that enhance Carrboro. They don’t rely on commercializing themselves to entice visitors to become tourists.
Carrboro is captivating because new residents and visitors truly discover that the congeniality is pure. Carrboro is entirely genuine.
I get the hippie description now.
Love for a town like Carrboro is not measured in fame. Carrboro-ites keep their priority on the community – locally owned and organically grown.
For bookworms, Carrboro has tasty apples
By Allison Parker
Staff writer
Commons Photo by Allison Parker
U.S. History, Women’s studies, Wicca, Paganism. Only in a bookstore can you find this much diversity in one place. From Nice Price Books to the PTA Thrift Shop, Carrboro satisfies even the most eccentric reading desires.
PTA Thrift Shop
Walking through PTA Thrift Shop in Carrboro, I come across a man in a corner, meticulously comparing Russian book titles on paper with their English counterparts on the shelf.
“I like to read but this is my profession,” said George Rubinstein, resident of Chapel Hill. “I buy English books and compare Russian and English languages.”
He said the differences in the ways people communicate fascinate him. “I like to see how ideas are rendered in other languages.”
Rubinstein, originally from Ukraine, moved to Monterey, Calif., where he taught Russian at the Advanced Language Institute. “It’s the largest language school in the world,” he said.
Although Rubinstein said he loved the cool ocean weather in California, he moved to Chapel Hill in 1999. “My son is a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, so he wanted me to move here so I could be closer to him,” he said.
Rubinstein pursued his love of language at the University. “When I came here, I got in touch with the UNC Department of Slavic Languages,” he said. “I’m working in Cognitive Lingustics, which is the way we shape our thoughts through language.”
Kevin Smith, resident of Mebane, is a frequent book shopper at PTA Thrift Shop. “I come here for the variety and low cost,” he said. “I never feel guilty about paying 25 cents for a book.”
While classics and spiritual books interest him, Smith said he has also purchased textbooks for school at the store. “I’ve saved about $120 buying textbooks from here.”
The PTA Thrift Shop has a half-price book sale on Mondays during the month of April. Hardbacks are two dollars, trade paperbacks are $1.50 and pocket paperbacks are 50 cents.
Regardless of your interests and budget, Carrboro has plenty for every book lover to choose from.
Nice Price Books
It is 9:45 in the morning, and Crayton Wanders waits patiently outside of Nice Price Books in Carrboro.
“We open at ten,” he said. “If you stick around, you can talk to someone who works here in about ten minutes.”
Wanders has been a faithful employee at Nice Price Books in Carrboro for nine years. “I’m an errand boy and do maintenance stuff for the store,” he said.
Wanders said he loves to read and listen to music. “I mainly stick with Robert Frost, Dylan Thomas and W.B. Yeats,” he said.
The friendly people at Nice Price Books keep Wanders around. “I work here because it’s such a friendly atmosphere,” he said.
The Book Market
Located in a cozy corner of Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro, The Book Market is an independently-owned bookstore that has been around for 20 years.
From general fiction to classics, romances to cookbooks, the store has something to satisfy all reading tastes. Although The Book Market is a used bookstore, they also sell new books by local authors. The store is unique in that it supports these local authors and sells artwork by local artists.
No commentsLocal chef shows how to cook with market vegetables
Commons Photos by Sara Gregory
By Sara Gregory
Staff writer
Not even bugs keep Shari Castle from cooking with fresh vegetables.
“If you see a bug, that’s not a bad thing,” Castle said. “It’s just if you see slime — that’s not good.”
Castle, a Chapel Hill food writer and chef who also gives cooking lessons, led a group March 31 around the Carrboro Farmers’ Market and demonstrated how to buy and cook the freshest vegetables.
A Farmers’ Market regular, Castle said she always walks through the market twice.
“You have to go around at least once to see what’s here, and then you go around again to see what you want to buy.”
She had time Saturday to lead the group around the market only once, but Castle stopped the group frequently to comment on the various vegetables being offered by local vendors.
What is offered at the market depends on the season, Castle said.
“This time of year when it’s hot and humid, you get in vegetables with your bolder flavors,” she said. “The strength of flavors goes almost with the season.”
When trying to decide which vegetables to cook together, Castle said to pay attention to what grows together.
“You can’t go wrong with this: what grows together goes together,” Castle said.
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Way of the Cross followed through Carrboro
Commons Photos by Meghan Cooke
By Meghan Cooke
Staff writer
On Good Friday, prayers could be heard across Carrboro. But these prayers were not restricted to the pews and altars inside of a church.
About 30 people walked through downtown Carrboro carrying a cross, the message of Jesus’ resurrection and Christian peace.
Beginning the Way of the Cross service in front of the Carrboro Town Hall at 2 p.m., a group from the Episcopal Church of the Advocate, of Carrboro, weaved its way through Carrboro carrying a 7-foot cross, stopping at 14 locations, which represented the 14 Stations of the Cross.
The Way of the Cross is a Catholic and Episcopalian custom that began when Christian pilgrims followed what they believed was the path that Jesus walked beginning from his condemnation to his burial.
Anita Howell, of Chapel Hill, said that she had observed the Stations of the Cross in a church before, but had never done so on an outdoor walk. She said she was glad for the sunny, but cool weather.
“This is wonderful,” she said. “It’s an interesting contradiction between the solemn nature of the service and the gloriousness of the day.”
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The Unofficial Guide to Family Fun in Carrboro
A Guide to Family Fun in Carrboro
By Elsa Hasenzahl
Staff Writer
In Carrboro there are many fun and exciting things for families to do together –many of which are free! Here are a few good ideas for ways your family can spend quality time together.
● The Century Center in Carrboro offers many family related activities, such as Toddler Preschool Playtime on Tuesdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Other popular rotating events include Kid’s Bingo and the Lollipop series with story telling, music, puppets and clowns. Some programs do cost a small participation fee. A monthly calendar of events at the Century Center can be found at http://www.ci.carrboro.nc.us/RP/PDFs/CCMonthlyCalendar.pdf.
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Dear Carrboro: Ode to an old friend…
(Photo by Jock Lauterer, CHHS ‘63)
By Jock Lauterer
Carrboro Commons Adviser
When my childhood chum Johnny Gouger laughed, it was no delicate matter.
No, not Gouger. When something struck him as funny, which was more often than not, he would cut loose with a trilling soprano cackle, a rooster’s crow of joy, a peal of merriment that went on much too long and much too loud for most public settings.
I am sure that his distinctive yelping laughter was well known at Elmo’s Diner in Carrboro, where he dearly loved his huevos rancheros.
At his funeral last week in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery — the last place on earth you would expect to find a good laugh — many of us celebrating the life of John Sifford Gouger found ourselves chuckling at the memory of this latter-day Mark Twain.
His sister Judy, whose laugh is similar but more polite, told me that Johnny was “telling West Virginia jokes on his last good day” at UNC Hospitals.
That would be my buddy Gouger.
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Carrboro offers eclectic wine options for consumers
Commons Photo by Allison Parker
By Allison Parker
Staff Writer
From Counoise to Sauvignon Blanc – Carrboro has what it takes to satisfy even the most eclectic wine connoisseur.
Mary Turner, full-time employee at Weaver Street Market, said the market has a variety of wine options available for any type of consumer.
“We see it all – customers who want the best of everything, to customers who want the cheapest wine, and also everything in between,” she said. “But, most of the people in here are looking for good quality wine at a low price.”
No commentsFarm Tour to offer fun on the farm, education about food production
By Kristen Pope
Staff Writer
With one of Carrboro’s unofficial mottos being “locally owned and organically grown” Weaver Street Market and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association are teaming up to give the public a chance to witness first-hand exactly where local food is grown.
On Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22, 34 farms will open their doors during the 12th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour. Each farm is open to visitors from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.
“The tour is meant to be an educational opportunity to introduce people to where to their food comes from,” said Amy Eller, communications director for the CFSA. “We’re trying to connect people back to where their food is grown and how it is grown.”
Eller said many people, children especially, say their food comes from the grocery store, and the CFSA wants to show people that “there is real food growing in the dirt” and to “put a face with the food.”
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Carrboro from the tracks
By Justin Smith
Staff Writer
I don’t know why I walked down the middle of the railroad tracks heading north out of Carrboro that Sunday afternoon.
Maybe I was subconsciously inspired by a paper I was writing about Carrboro’s mill town history for an American Studies class.
During my research, I read in a book called “Orange County Trio” that the town started as a small settlement that formed during the late 1800s around a 10-mile rail spur. In the back of my mind, I think I wanted to know what Carrboro looked like today from the railroad tracks.
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