Greensboro Daily Photo

Ride of Silence

The above photo features the Ride of Silence as riders lined up at the Wrangler building on North Elm Street. Yesterday, participants rode 6.2 miles, silently honoring bicyclists who were killed and injured on our streets. Some people rode with families; others rode with friends, and many sported shirts of their cycling groups. The Ride of Silence is always held the third Wednesday in May--  with hundreds of locations worldwide. Not only does the ride honor those who have been injured or killed, it also raises awareness for us to remember to share the road with cyclists. Chris Phelan started the event in 2003 in Dallas.*

Cyclists were asked to ride no faster than 12 miles an hour, to wear helmets, follow the rules of the road, and to remain silent. The row on the above right was lined with police who also rode. This is also their week of remembrance (which we will feature tomorrow). So, this is a time to take great pause and remember those who are no longer with us. During the ride yesterday evening, two cyclists riding near us fell, hitting the ground pretty hard. We sure hope they were OK. Let us know if you hear.

*read more, here.

 

S is for Signage

As seen by the crowd on the street, Saturday was a busy day at the Carolina Theatre on Greene Street. How wonderful that this iconic Greensboro venue, known since 1927 as the "Showplace of the Carolinas," is still a vibrant and dynamic community resource. Tomorrow night, the 2,200-seat theater will have chandeliers and gilded railings glowing as country music fans come out in droves to see John Anderson perform. Likely, concert attendees will be heard walking to their seats singing, "Just a swinging."  

The above sign, advertising not only the Carolina Theatre, but also upcoming events, harkens back to the pre-digital days when signs had to be changed by hand. The all-caps, sans-serif letters, look the same as they did almost 90 years ago. By night, the sign lights up, showcasing events and adding to the excitement of the evening.

Today is ABC Wednesday and for our A-Z Urban Finds Series, "S" is for signage. While digital signs offer more advertising options and are easy to change, some buildings just call for the old-school, black block letters of our past.

Dress Day Downtown

Saturday must have been dress day in downtown Greensboro. The four women above were seen on Greene Street, near the Carolina Theatre in the afternoon. The day was blustery and the camera shaky, but seeing four people in dresses/skirts was enough for us to take notice. The four were walking so quickly, we weren't able to catch up with them to find out why they were dressed up. They not only looked beautiful, but also seemed happy-- a winning combination.

At any moment, we expect Petula Clark to pop out of Washington street singing her 1960's song "Downtown," especially  the part where she sings, "We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares. So go downtown. Things will be great when you're downtown. Don't wait a minute more, downtown. Everything is waiting for you, downtown....." 

Let's all have a dress day! What would you wear... downtown?

Hilary J Clement, Artist

This past weekend, Hilary J Clement was one of the artists at the Art Will Survive event in Greensboro. Hilary hails from West Virginia, but has called Greensboro home since 2001. By day, she works in the medical field, but every spare, after-work moment, she can be found painting in her studio at the 205 Collaborative, downtown, on Lyndon Street.

The two paintings above are representative of Hilary's artwork. She likes to paint subjects that evoke nostalgia-- the old family homestead, a jelly jar full of flowers from grandma's yard. Hilary loves the physical aspect of painting; standing and working a palate knife with paint around a large canvas. You can find her work on display at Tessa, a restaurant on North Battleground Avenue. You can also see her work at 205 Collaborative or at Hilary's website. Most fun of all, is catching up with her at an event where you have a chance to chat with her.

Peony Time in Greensboro

After a hard work week, and a week of gloomy weather, a good dose of nature can be as uplifting as just about anything. The above photo shows the translucency of a peony at sunset. Peonies are in full bloom this week in Greensboro, and, the ones that survived the torrential downpour last night, opened their petals, full-throttle. In the middle of the photo, you can see the yellow tint of the setting sun, seemingly just behind the peony-- only really 93 million miles away. 

Did you know Greensboro has a peony farm? For almost 20 years, the Wrenn family, through their business The Peony Patch,  has been growing and shipping peonies around the world. According to their website, this area has a fantastic climate and soil for peonies. We're betting the Fresh Market, sells the Wrenn's freshly-cut peonies as The Fresh Market has lovely bouquets. Thanks to the cooler weather, peonies have bloomed a little later this year. See the Wrenn's website (here) and also an article about them in garden and gun magazine (here).

If you have a chance, get out and enjoy nature this weekend. It is such a great way to recharge and you may be able to track down peony blooms. Magnolias are also blooming. Happy Saturday!

Delicious Bakery & Delightful Company

Nothing is more enjoyable than a place that brings people together. As we isolate ourselves more and more behind work desks and inside with electronic devices, places for human interaction are more important than ever. Coffee houses and bakeries provide space for people of all ages to gather and enjoy each other. Delicious Bakery is one such place. It is located at Pisgah Church Road, in the plaza on Lawndale Drive that formerly housed The Fresh Market and Pie Works Pizza. Delicious has been a Greensboro fixture since at least 2010, back when it was located a few blocks west on Battleground Avenue (see here). It has been voted best bakery in the Triad on several occasions.

The above Norman-Rockwell moment shows a dozen people* on the outside of the store enjoying the spring weather. Delicious will be a busy place this weekend. The bakery reports on their website that they are at capacity for special orders this weekend, but ready-made cakes may still be available for purchase.

We hope you have a wonderful Friday the 13th and that you find a little time to enjoy the deliciously, delightful company of others. Just don't expend too much energy trying to find a way to have your cake and eat it too!

*(Don't forget to count the infant)!

Plans Unveiled

Yesterday's post featured the pulse of the moment when Natty Greene's co-owners were sharing their expansion plans with the public. Today's photo features the boardroom, on the north side of Revolution Mill,  where it looks like Self-Help Ventures Fund and the Natty Greene's group were discussing their exciting venture at Revolution Mill.  Self-Help Ventures Fund is a non-profit loan fund that arranges deals like higher-risk business loans, real estate development, and home loan secondary market programs. * They are very involved in the revitalization of Revolution Mill and in working out the details to bring Natty Greene's on board.

In the above scene, we are imagining the key players in this project, all sitting around putting the final touches on the deal, donning hard hats, from the shelf in the corner, and walking through the mill to check construction progress. Things are happening fast. If weathered brick walls and glossy maple floors could talk, they would be toasting each other over a business deal that puts them to good use for at least another century. Below, is a photo from the welcoming entrance to the building. 

* (reference and more information)   

R is for Revolution and Revitalization

In the above photo, Kayne Fisher of Natty Greene's Brewery is making the official announcement to the press that they are expanding into Revolution Mill. They will have two restaurants and will move, and expand, the Gate City Boulevard facility. The once prospering textile mill will be repurposed to include housing, artists' studios, the brewery, eateries, galleries and event spaces. Greensboro Park and Rec has made a commitment to cleaning up and beautifying North Buffalo Creek. The creek runs through the 45-acre mill property and will give this area-- 2 miles north of downtown-- a water feature. Natty Greene's plans to have a butcher and baker on site, and have made a commitment to good, fresh food, all of which was common when Revolution Mill was making textiles. 

This mixed-use campus of 520,000 square feet, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The above photo showcases the original maple floors and the exposed brick walls seen throughout the 1898 facility. The Revolution Mill redevelopment represents, perfectly, how our economy is changing from manufacturing to service and leisure. Here, people can work from home, eat and socialize, and enjoy many amenities, without leaving the property-- the ultimate staycation. Congratulations to Natty Greene's. And, congratulations to Greensboro for keeping this thriving brewery right here and for giving a tired, old mill, just the facelift it needed. 

Today is ABC Wednesday and for our A-Z Urban Finds Series, "R" is for Revolution Mill and its Revitalization! Below, you see co-founder of Natty's, Chris Lester, explaining the plans to interested community members. Here are two good links if you are interested in more details. (backstory on the groups that brokered the deal; Bizjournal's unveiling of the plan). 

COE Grocery and SEED Co.

COE Grocery and SEED Co. has left the building. It has been a fixture on South Elm Street Since the early 1900's. However, this block of Elm St. is getting quite the facelift and it appears this little store is part of that wave. Coe Grocery used to be known for it's great selection of groceries as well as for a prompt delivery service.

At one time, Coe and Co. had a little bit of everything when, first, Charles Coe, and then his son Oman Coe owned and operated the store until the latter retired in 1980. It was quite a shock to walk by the other week, with the intention of purchasing plants,  and see that the store had been emptied out. Greensboro has done a nice job of keeping the downtown buildings functional and preserved, without compromising the vintage look.

Just like we said in yesterday's post, sometimes things have a way of disappearing. It will be fun to watch what goes in the space.

A Fold of Kyloe 2016

If you are a Greensboro Daily Photo regular reader, you know we have been publishing for a very long time-- 7 1/2 years, without missing a day. Well, the woman who runs Versailles Daily Photo is on vacation in Scotland and posted a photo of the above breed of cattle, kyloe. We went to find the photo we posted on March 30th, 2009 of the herd that lives off of Pleasant Ridge Road. While the text is still there, the photo is missing. Here is another copy of the photo to to share with our friend from Versailles. 

This situation reminds us that nothing on the internet is forever. While it can seem like forever, especially if it is an incriminating photo, link rot is real and things do disappear. Servers change, people quit hosting their blogs, hosting websites change hands or go out of business. Sometimes, links get corrupted. We haven't been the best about archiving our photos or the accompanying text. We haven't found a logical way to store 80,000 photos, 2,000+ of which have been shared on Greensboro Daily Photo. But then, maybe that doesn't matter. We live in very "immediate"  world where we look and move on. People want flash text-- every letter counts and 140 is enough. Maybe seeing something for that brief moment, once, is enough. We'll have to think on that.

In the meantime, today you are seeing a 2009 photo of a fold of kilos who have thick, wavy pelts to protect them from the brutal winds of the Scottish, Highlands. We're about to get in the car and retrace our steps to see if this herd-- rather fold-- is still around seven years later. Not only do virtual links disappear, real-time things (especially farms in Greensboro)  have a way of disappearing, too.

Happy Mother's Day 2016

We came across this mother and child statue while doing some urban walking around the Lindley Park neighborhood. From the sidewalk, it looks adorable perched in a front yard among flowers and trees. As we got closer, and saw the white streaks, we realized that the birds have been enjoying the statue too! Motherhood can be like that; beautiful, but sometimes a little messy. Mother's Day is a time to recognize not only our own mothers, but also the idea of motherhood in general. The holiday is always celebrated the second Sunday in May.

If you are in Greensboro and in the mood for taking mom out to brunch, there are the high-end options like this lovely, elegant brunch at the Proximity Hotel (here), but even something as simple as an impromptu picnic in one of the city's green spaces would be nice, too. If you are lucky enough to have a mother who is living, just remembering her will go a long way to making mom happy. To quote the 1982 E.T. movie, "phone home." Happy Mother's Day.

 

Dog Tag

Today's photo speaks for itself. Someone in Greensboro has a vanity tag celebrating DOGS! If semantics is your field of inquiry, you know that this tag can have several interpretations. Likely, the owner simply loves canines. Our informal research is telling us that Toyota owners have more vanity tags than other brands of cars.

We wonder how many states have people with "dog tags." Maybe they should seek each other out. If you know or run in to the owner of this vehicle, have them stop by to tell us the backstory. Ironically, we didn't see any dogs in the car.

If you love dogs, here is a link to the Guilford County Animal Shelter. Consider adopting, donating or volunteering time so that Greensboro's shelter dogs can have the best lives possible. Happy Saturday! 

Plymouth Nursery & Old Country Store

Plymouth Nursery, located in Stoneville, actually serves Greensboro and the surrounding area. The above photo features their display at Golden Antiques on 220 North, just north of Stokesdale, over the Rockingham County line. Not only does Plymouth Nursery have some fine looking plants here, they also have a cozy, country store inside. You can find snacks, candy, and soft drinks in glass bottles and you can sit a spell and enjoy being in a store with a yesteryear feel. Looking at the above display will five you an idea of the step-back-in-time ambiance. Indeed, at the little country store, tucked away in the back of the antique store, is a great place to visit after a busy work week when the 21st century seems just a tad hectic.

Plymouth Nursery partners with Hannah's Haven, a teen challenge center in Brown Summit. Part of the profits at the nursery help women through the Hannah's Haven ministry. As we enter this Mother's Day weekend, it is nice to thinking about making purchases for mom at places that we know do something for the local community. Whether you make a purchase or not, the people at the nursery and the Old Country Store will help you feel appreciated. Happy First Friday of May!

Greensboro Is First Stop for Author John Hart

Tuesday night, against a backdrop of periodicals, author John Hart spoke at Barnes and Noble Booksellers at Friendly Center in Greensboro.  Tuesday was the first day that his new novel, Redemption Road, was released and Greensboro was the author's first stop on a 65 day book tour. Redemption Road is Mr. Hart's first book in five years. This former Greensboro Resident explained to the local audience of faithful fans how he did not want to submit a book for publication until he was confident it would be worthy of his readers' time. He was 300 pages into an earlier draft when he realized the story was not one he wanted to tell. Regarding Redemption Road, the early comments from the publishing houses and critics, are favorable, with some saying  this is his best book yet.

Not only can Mr. Hart write, he is also a very good public speaker who is personable and connects with his audience. In addition to answering questions from the audience, he took time to say a few kind words to people who waited in line to have copies of the book signed. Most people know Mr. Hart practiced law in Salisbury, NC. However, not many know he was a French literature major at Davidson College in NC. Reading French literature likely contributed to Mr. Hart's ability to tell a good, complex story. Knowing some of the backstory about the writing of the book really contributes to the joy of reading it. We're about 100 pages in and loving it. 

Q is for Quest, Art Quest

Finding good places for children to have fun making art, without the worry of making messes, can be a challenge. In Greensboro, one need only look as far as Art Quest at the Cultural Arts Center on Davie Street. ArtQuest allows children, young and old, the opportunity to experiment with materials and make their own decisions about how they want their art to take shape. This venue is also a fun place to hold birthday parties.

A quest is a search for something and can be long and arduous. While you cannot be guaranteed that you will reach the end of your artistic journey at ArtQuest, for sure, you will have fun along the way. The above photo shows display shelves at the ArtQuest studio. The photo below shows the chairs stacked on tables, at closing time when all budding artists had gone home for the day.

Today is ABC Wednesday and Q, for our A-Z Urban Finds Series, is for Quest!

Emma Keys: Breakfast-- Everyday

Since February 1st, Emma Keys in Lindley Park has been under new ownership. This trio of owners, James & Ruth Whack and Gene Bordinger, greeted us at the door when we went there for breakfast this past Sunday. We got a great breakfast - two generous slices of rye toast, two eggs and bacon- for less than $4. The only place in the Walker/Elam area offering a cooked-to-order breakfast, they also had fresh tomatoes from a vender at the Saturday market and fresh strawberries from Faucette Farms. Likely, what they get from the Saturday market will change; however, their interest in supporting local venders will not.

You can now eat your way around Lindley Park without leaving the Walker/Elam intersection-- breakfast at Emma Keys, plenty of options for lunch and dinner, Common Grounds for coffee and music at night, and Bestway for snacks all day. The new owners of Emma Keys are committed to being good neighbors and hope to be here to serve the community for a very long time. We don't know how long they can offer breakfast at those super-reasonable prices, but we encourage you to head over and welcome them. That, after all, would be the neighborly thing to do. By the way, ask Gene to play the Tish Hinojosa/Tex-Mex playlist, specially created because that's what we were in the mood to hear. If they aren't busy, they just might start a new playlist for you. Happy Tuesday, dear readers.

Music at the International Civil Rights Museum

Saturday at 1:00 pm. many people in Greensboro (and elsewhere) were out playing music and, in some places, singing along in protest to North Carolina's HB2. The original idea of playing music as a form of protest was sparked by Steve Haines who teaches music at UNCG. Another group, organized by Mark Dillon, also a music instructor at UNCG, sang and played in front of Scuppernong Books on Elm Street. Since the group in front of Suppernong Books, the one at Gibbs Hundred, and the one at Mack and Mack were featured in the News and Record yesterday, we thought we would share the group in front of the International Civil Rights Museum, Greensboro's "ground zero" for peaceful protests. What appeared to be a a high school or college group was playing jazz music. To the delight of the instrumentalists and onlookers, the woman on the right came out of the museum and began singing in her pitch-perfect voice.  What a treat. Greensboro has so many talented musicians and that above group was no exception. The above group was protesting on the very spot where the Greensboro Sit Ins took place in 1960.

In spite of the rain, many people came out to have their voice be heard. Indeed, the event was peaceful, and impactful. 

Books Galore

This photo was taken on Friday night at the annual book sale at St. Francis Episcopal Church on Lawndale Drive-- the calm before the storm. Saturday was when items were $10 a grocery bag- as much as you can stuff in the bag and carry. People know their genre and categories. Late Friday night, categories of choice were popular fiction, military history, dog handling, and classics. On Saturday, there were crowds of people trying to gather their year's supply of reading. A Greensboro tradition since the late 1950's, this is the 58th annual book sale.  While in this room, time stands still and shoppers forget that we are living in digital device era.

Today is Theme Day for the City Daily Photo community and the May theme day challenge is to convey the idea of SMELL through a photo. Well, you can imagine the smell of a room full of books. If you love that old book smell, but are totally committed to reading on your Kindle, you can order this unisex perfume "Dead Writers." With prominent notes of clove, vanilla, and tobacco, it smells like old books. Alternatively, you can look for book sales in Greensboro or hang out at one of our fabulous libraries.

Man and Dogs in Motion

Weekends should always include time for ourselves. Even when we have to work on the weekend, we need some kind of transition ritual. The unidentified Greensboro man, above, seems to have made a ritual of getting out and walking his dogs. The trio was seen on Greene Street, just down from the courthouse and the Lincoln Financial Group/JP building. He was working with voice commands and the dogs were fairly compliant. The man had such patience and determination when working with the canines. Patience and determination go a long way in just about anything we do. 

Greene Street extends from Fisher Park to McGee Street; however, this part in the center of town seems to get the most pedestrian traffic-- human and canine. Notice the City of Greensboro banner in the upper left-hand corner. We love it when we can sneek in something that says "Greensboro" into a photo. Happy Saturday, dear readers. May your weekend be everything you want it to be, and then some!

Greensboro Children's Museum

The Greensboro Children's Museum is beautiful inside and out. The above photo was taken from the top floor of the parking deck on Church Street. The museum has been open since 1999, that's seventeen years. The museum works hard to bring families together and to promote and active lifestyles. They now have an edible schoolyard on the north side of the museum. 

Tomorrow from 10- 3pm, the museum has invited in food trucks and they will have several hands-on activities to help their half-acre edible schoolyard. If you are local, we hope you can fit that into your weekend schedule. The event is free. In 2004, it was one of the top 50 children's museum in the united states. Tomorrow would be a great day to stop by and see why everyone loves it so much. 

P is for Pullman on the Mighty 611

It is not every day that a Pullman sleeper rail car come to town. However, one was in Greensboro this weekend as part of the train we've been featuring for the last two days. And, this is not just any Pullman. It comes with a great deal of provenance. The car was built by Pullman of Chicago in 1925 as a 12-section, one drawing-room sleeper. In the 1950's it was reconfigured as a fancy office car and operated as part of North Western Railway's office car fleet. In 1996, it was purchased by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. It was sold to Dearing Railroad LLC in 2006 and is now part of  he 611 steam locomotive.

In its present configuration, the Pullman Dearing features two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a crew room, a dining room, a kitchen, an observation lounge and platform. *  It sure added a lot of character to the bullet-nosed, vintage 1950's train as it came chugging down the track and parked at the J. Douglas Gaylon Depot. 

 Today is ABC Wednesday and for our A-Z Urban Finds, "P" is for "Pullman." 

*reference and additional information, here.

Train Engineer for the Spirit of Roanoke

Today's photo features the train engineer of the coal fired steam engine, Spirit of Roanoke,  as it pulled out of Greensboro's J. Douglas Gaylon Depot 7:00 am Sunday morning. Being a train engineer requires a tremendous amount of preparation and concentration. Train engineers must be certified by the Federal Railroad Administration as well as have on-the-job training. Unlike the conductors, the engineer does not have ongoing contact with passengers. While he hopes passengers are happy, his job is to ensure they get from Point A to Point B safely and incident free. The round trips between Greensboro and Roanoke, VA were, indeed, incident free.

You can see the concentration on the engineer's face as he navigates the journey. Not seen in the photo were the exuberant spectators, hopping from gravel pile to gravel pile near the track, trying to get a good look and a photo or two of the Mighty 611.  Onlookers were fascinated by the train's bullet-shaped cars, enveloped in steam. Equally thrilling were the sounds of the wheels rolling along the track and the whistle alerting onlookers that the train was in motion. It can easily take a train up to a mile to stop, so knowing what lies ahead is serious business to an engineer. 

Steam Locomotive #611

The weather this weekend was perfect for a train ride. The above photo features the Norfolk & Western #611, a Class J steam locomotive that normally resides in the Virginia Museum of Transportation. However, this past weekend, it loaded up a belly full of coal and water to make the trip between Greensboro and Roanoke.  It holds 35 tons of coal and 22,000 gallons of water. This steam locomotive, from 1950, was one of 14 Class J's to be produced and is the only one still in existence.

Through fundraisers and community support, the #611 was restored to its former glory and makes a few day trips each year. Yesterday, the weather was perfect and the train was full. Round trip fares ranged from $169 for standard coach to $1,299 for a private suite for four with complimentary breakfast, lunch, hors d'oeuvres. Even though we didn't get to ride the train, seeing people board the train, hearing the sounds of pressure released when steam was generated, and seeing its bullet-shaped body chug along through Greensboro, was priceless. To children watching, it was as if Thomas the Train stopped by The Gate City for a visit.

While waiting for yesterday's 7:00 am Greensboro departure, we were worried the view would be obstructed because a seemingly-endless Norfolk Southern train was pulling into the station as the modest 109 foot Roanoker was heading home. Between the cars of the newer train, we caught a glimpse of the steam and coal emissions-- beautiful for nostalgia, but not so good for the environment (see below). Promptly at 7:00 am, the view was restored; to the delight of all of us standing along the tracks.

St. Francis Episcopal Church-- Book Sale This Week

The Annual Saint Francis Book Sale is happening this week from April 28-30. St. Francis Episcopal Church is located on Lawndale Avenue across the street from Lawndale Baptist, between Cone Blvd. and Pisgah Church road. With the trees and the proximity to the road, the church is hard to photograph. An added challenge this year is the construction fence. However, if you are a book lover, they will have 50 thousand for you to choose from. Here is 2 minute video that the church members prepared about the sale.

We're having trouble getting videos to embed, but one of these links should work. It is very informative, if you are considering attending. The layout is slightly different this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCfyUCgW7aw&feature=share

https://youtu.be/bCfyUCgW7aw

Downtown Elm Street at Hamburger Square

The above photo features Natty Greene's Brewing Company and Grey's Tavern. Both are locally owned places  to go for food and drink. Natty Greene's opened in 2004 in this brick building from 1895. Grey's opened four years later in 2008. Do any of you remember prior to the opening of Grey's Tavern, the space housed an art supply store? Just to the right of this scene is Hamburger square, where the street is often blocked off and concerts are held. The photo shows you how nicely the façades are being maintained on Elm Street, downtown.

Yesterday, when this photo was taken, it had just finished raining and the driver of the red car was able to head out without getting wet. The afternoon was rather overcast and wet, which explains why more people were not out walking around on a Friday afternoon. Let's hope more people get out and enjoy our beautiful community today!

 

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day, 2016. Earth Day was first observed 46 years ago and, today, it seems as relevant as ever. Earth Day will be celebrated tomorrow at the Piedmont Earth Day Festival at the Winston Salem Fairgrounds.* I you are interested in sustainability and watching your carbon footprint, this is the event for you. Locally, UNCG is having an event from 3-8pm (here). UNCG is one of only four universities in North Carolina achieving a gold rating from the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System. Last year, UNCG increased annual student fees by $2.22 to fund projects through the Green Fund.

The above photo features bicycles at ReAligned, an antiques and repurposed-items store on East Lewis Street in downtown Greensboro. We think we'll purchase one of those repurposed bicycles and head on over to UNCG's Earth Day celebration. We'd love to learn what we can do to be as impactful as possible with respect to protecting the earth and our resources.  How will you be spending Earth Day?

* if you think you might attend, check, here.