Books, bus drivers, buglers and island beauty
Here we are at the end of February and about to enjoy tomorrow’s Leap Day! 
Easy to keep track of Leap Years knowing that each one brings us a Presidential Election. The days between now and November 4 will be interesting indeed. But rather than listening to candidates and their promises, we would rather listen to Davidson’s own Tony Abbott talk about his latest book! We bring you an update on his local book tours.
Check below also for news about the new transportation coordinator at The Pines, two local trumpeters at the Hargrave Military Academy, kudos to the Ross family, Caribbean perks for Wool and Bobbye Howell, a Twig from The Pines and some personal thoughts on fences around town.
Author Tony Abbott makes the rounds
Tony Abbott and his family came to Davidson in 1964 when Tony joined the English Department at Davidson College. In addition to teaching, he has written four books of poetry and two novels.
“The Three Great Secret Things” is Tony’s latest, published by Main Street Rag in Charlotte. (Click here for a DavidsonNews four-minute interview with Tony.) The book is a semi-autobiographical story about a boy’s teenage years in boarding school. Groups in our area are welcoming Tony to their meetings, providing a time for Tony to talk about his writing, read from his works and sign books for “adoring fans!” River Run residents Pam Elliotte (in photo at left) and her mother-in-law, Kay Elliotte enjoyed a moment recently talking to Tony and having him sign copies of his latest novel.
Ken Krenzer behind the wheel at The Pines
Meet Ken Krenzer, the new transportation coordinator at The Pines. Ken is no stranger to The Pines since his mother-in-law, Pat Sailstad, lived there. Ken was born in Idaho Springs, Colorado, but cannot call Colorado home since his father was career Army and the family moved a lot. He met his future wife, Judy Sailstad, while she was a student at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and he was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood following a year’s tour in Vietnam. 
Married now for 38 years, he and Judy raised two children: Christopher who lives in Denver, Colorado, and Michelle who lives in Smithfield, Virginia.
Ken joined Duke Power in 1973 and retired in 2006 after 33 years with the company. For a while in 2007, he drove for Christian Tours in our area before taking the transportation coordinator job at The Pines in December 2007 after Turner Stimpson left. Judy is well known to many in our area since she worked for Sterling Martin in Davidson College’s Athletic Department for 20 years and now is Aquatics Director at our Lake Norman YMCA.
Ken can tackle any assignment at The Pines with good humor and great ability. The retirement community has just gotten a new 33 passenger bus which Ken was quick to show off. He enjoys getting to know the residents and can be found helping out whether driving to the grocery store or the symphony. He boasts cooking as his favorite hobby but also enjoys reading. He and Judy are longtime members of Rehobeth United Methodist Church in Terrell. Say “Hello!” next time you see Ken and tell him how handsome he appears in our DavidsonNews.net photo!
Military trumpeters have River Run ties
River Run families, Dave and Margo Wehrung and James and Kim Hancock, are proud of their sons who attend Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia. 
Alex Wehrung, a senior, and Stephen Hancock, a junior, both play the trumpet and were chosen this month to represent their school in a band festival. They participated with 90 others from 11 schools across the country in the 32nd Military School Band Festival held at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Wayne, Pennsylvania (Alex is at left in the photo). The boys were selected by their school’s band director. Following three days of rehearsals, the band performed on a Sunday afternoon with many parents in attendance. It was a wonderful occasion for the Wehrungs who attended the weekend’s activities and for Kim Hancock who was a chaperone for the HMA students.
Catching up with these families, we found that Stephen Hancock’s older brother, Jimmy, is a senior at Hargrave and Alex’s older sister, Allison Wehrung, is a sophomore at Furman University. Alex also has a cheering section at The Pines where his grandmother, Gerry Corwin, and great aunt, Martha Leak, live.
We congratulate Stephen and Alex on their musical talent and selection for this band festival.
Kudos to Kelsey
Speaking of talented kids with Davidson connections, the Ross family is rightfully proud of daughter Kelsey, a National Merit Scholar finalist. You can read about Kelsey’s honor in our latest school notes. Here we present Kelsey, a senior, with her brother, Kevin, an eighth grader. (As you can see, she has nothing on him when it comes to height!) Kelsey is one of only five at Cannon School to earn the prestigious National Merit distinction, which puts her in the running for a national merit scholarship.
The Ross family lives on Pine Road in the former Stroud home. Dad Kelly is a senior vice president with the Lowe’s Corporate Headquarters. Mom Pam is a stay-at-home mother keeping up with Kevin’s track meets (discus and shot put) and his participation in the Cornelius Youth Orchestra (playing the upright bass). The family moved here from Michigan and Kelsey must miss the snow and ice as she’ll soon be headed back north to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. We wish her warm luck!
Winter Getaway
Wool and Bobbye Howell had a wonderful winter getaway this month. They journeyed by plane and boat to Petit St. Vincent, a privately owned 113 acre island where they relaxed for a week in the balmy temperatures of the Caribbean. The Howells had just completed their move from the Brawley Road area of Iredell County to the less traveled Pine Road of Davidson. Happily settled in their new home, they escaped our winter temperatures for seven days to recover from the move and relax in the comfort of the idyllic island.
Visitors stay in one of only 22 cottages at the resort. One can sail, snorkel, play tennis or just relax and be pampered by the excellent staff. There are no telephones or televisions to disturb the tranquility. Although the trade winds were blowing a steady gale which made ocean swimming difficult, the Howells did not mind. They relaxed, read some good books, ate fabulous meals and enjoyed the sandy beaches and sun. Each cottage is equipped with a flagpole and red and yellow flags. Raise the red flag and you will not be bothered; raise the yellow flag and someone is at your door within 15 minutes to satisfy your request. Sounds like a superb way to combat the February blahs!
Twigs from The Pines
Marguerite and Bill Davis attended the wedding of their step-granddaughter, Meredith Johnson, to Mr. Bradley Stuart of Mo-Ranch in the Texas hill country on February 2. The young couple will live in Austin, Texas. Marguerite and Bill stayed at the home of the bride’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Richard B. Johnson, Jr., in Kerrville for two weeks where they were able to visit old friends who had retired to the hill country. They were also visited by two Davidson ‘03 graduates, Zoe McCoy and Jeff Fox. On the way home to Davidson, they spent a few days in Houston with relatives.
Always alert to what is going on in Texas, Bill Davis also made us aware of the work of Kristin Hagerstrom of Houston, a former housewife who joined the Foreign Service and now is serving in Iraq. Kristin is hoping book lovers in the United States will fill the book shelves of the Women’s College in Ramadi which is trying to recover from the looting of their school by Al Qaeda in 2006. The school’s burned out library currently has one old paperback copy of “The Old Man and The Sea” for 1200 students. Donated books can be sent to her APO address which is charged at US postal rates or texts can be ordered through her wish list at Amazon.com. Books, DVDs, books on tape - anything would help. For more information, Google Kristin Hagerstrom or access her wish list at http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/1ECUG8JNLL9KZ Kristin’s APO address is EPRT, Kristin Hagerstrom, HHC 1BCT31D, Camp Ramadi, Iraq APO AE 09396
Sounding off
Growth, roads, bike paths, mega mansions - residents in Davidson always have something to comment or fuss about. But the privacy fence under construction on Concord Road that reaches from the lot’s back boundary all the way to the sidewalk seems unsightly! Fences may “make good neighbors” in the words of Robert Frost but we are not talking about New England. We live in neighbor-friendly Davidson and, in my opinion, this fence is unwarranted.
Filed under: Around Davidson, Davidson arts scene, Links
I couldn’t agree more with Brenda’s comment about the “McFence” going in on Concord Road. It reminds me of the Far Side cartoon in which a bird is singing in a tree, and a Dad is explaining to his son why the bird is singing. A network of fences that separate the yards of his suburban neighbors are clearly visible in the picture. He tells his son that the bird’s singing serves to mark its territory and that this is a behavior
that is “…restricted to lower animals.”
By contrast, an example of a lovely fence can be found on Woodland Road just south of Lorimer. Truly a work of art, and I encourage people to walk over and look at it.
This is what gets me about Davidson’s planning process. Hundreds of people meet for thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on staff and pricey consultants and studies for more than a decade, and we still end up with eyesores like this gulag fence.
Is this fence “in question” against any specific code or town policy? I think it looks great….but you have to lie on the ground on your side on the sidewalk to get the appropriate perspective.