All eyes were on the preschool program’s butterfly release on the Wednesday before Easter at the Davidson College Presbyterian Church. (Photo by Joy Bryant Photography)

The last 10 days have been a whirlwind of activity from Irish step dancing at Restaurant X to Easter traditions to shouts of joy for Davidson basketball. What great exposure for our college and town! Around Davidson this week also brings news of Charlotte Neal‘s birthday bash, a visit with the junior Chartiers in Seattle and the move of the senior Chartiers into The Pines.

A Lively Time at Restaurant X

If you have not done so already, stop by Restaurant X on South Main Street in Davidson and get to know the owners. Chris Phillips is the chef and hails from London. His wife, Christina, is the manager and comes from the Belfast area of Ireland. For Christina, St. Patrick’s Day means celebrating and she decided to treat customers at Restaurant X to festive music and dance last Monday, March 17. At lunchtime, Henry Lebedinsky and Kate Minogue set up in a corner to play beautiful Irish music for an enthusiastic audience before the duo broke to sample some delicious mince pies. In the evening, Christina invited five talented step dancers to perform for a packed house. You did not have to be Irish to catch the excitement. Thanks, Christina, for bringing St. Patrick’s Day “up close and personal” for so many in Davidson!

Easter egg hunts bring bright surprises

What a beautiful spring week for Christians to celebrate Easter. Despite its early date on the calendar, last week’s warm weather brought children of all sizes out to release butterflies, color and hunt eggs and worship together with their families. The preschool at the Davidson College Presbyterian Church released butterflies as a sign of new birth from the small cocoons they had watched for weeks.

At an area egg hunt, Elise Bryant (in the red striped shirt) ran through the newly mowed green grass hunting eggs while Merritt Strodel (in the white jacket) carefully studied the eggs she had discovered. There were many church services in our area culminating with Easter morning worship when members of many congregations decorated large crosses with fresh flowers.

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(Many thanks to Joy Bryant and Kate Barger for sharing their photos.)

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Charlotte is 40

What better way to welcome March than with a birthday? Charlotte Neal turned 40 on March 1 and was treated to a wonderful surprise party by her husband, Jay. Good neighbors, Matt and Suzanne Churchill, made their South Street home available for the more than 50 people who came to wish Charlotte well. Guests included family, friends, business associates and neighbors.

The ruse for the occasion was that the Churchills were having a party for Suzanne Churchill’s new book (“Little Magazines and Modernism: New Approaches“) and it worked only too well. Charlotte was completely surprised. In addition to delicious food and a triple layer cake provided by Carol Holmes of River Run, the Churchills sang a song called “We Love Charlotte” set to the “I Love Lucy” theme. As if that weren’t enough, good friend Karen Toney (of our favorite Ben & Jerry’s) produced a slide show of photos documenting Charlotte’s 40 years!

The Neal children were there to celebrate as well: William is 12, Rachel is 9 and Wesley is 6 years old. Happy Birthday, Charlotte! and best wishes for many more! (Thanks to Barbara Guise for the photo.)

News from Seattle

Tim and Tanya Chartier are spending Tim’s sabbatical year in Seattle and having a wonderful time discovering all that Washington state has to offer. Their son, Noah, is five years old and daughter, Mikayla, a busy 18 months. Good neighbors in Davidson’s McConnell neighborhood, Dave and Connie Wessner and their son, Ian (7), decided to visit the Chartiers and learn about living in another city. Although their trip was short, the Wessners packed in a lot of sightseeing.

The first day, both families rode the monorail to Pike Place Market taking in all the bright, beautiful stalls and especially the many tastings along the way. The children were intrigued with the “fish throwing” and the mysterious monkfish that appears to move on his own. Feeding seagulls was fun before taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back. The day ended with a birthday celebration for Tanya atop the Space Needle with a magical view of Seattle and a rare, clear view of Mt. Rainer.

Another day, Tanya accompanied the Wessners to Everett and a tour of the Boeing Factory. This was the highlight of the trip for Ian who is obsessed with planes. They saw 747′s under construction, the very first 787 that will come off the assembly line, and a brand new CanadaAir 747 testing its brakes on a runway at the facility. (Ian made a poster of his trip to share with his 2/3 class at Davidson Elementary featuring photos, posters and trinkets from Boeing as the biggest part of his presentation.)

The Wessners had a wonderful visit and now are eager to have their neighbors back in Davidson once more. Tim will finish his teaching at the University of Washington later this Spring so we all can welcome them home later this summer.

Welcome to the senior Chartiers

Although we lost one Chartier family to a sabbatical year in Washington, we gained another when Myron and Jan Chartier, parents of Tim Chartier, moved into their new villa at The Pines last month. They came east from Denver, Colorado, in late 2004 and settled into Dominion Village of Charlotte’s Highland Creek at that time. How glad they now are to be located in Davidson close to family. They visited Tim and Tanya and the grandchildren twice in Seattle. One visit over Christmas coincided with Myron’s 70th birthday celebration which five-year-old Noah enjoyed immensely. Jan Chartier enjoyed a birthday as well last month with a delightful dinner at The Pines.

This energetic couple enjoys walking and exercise as well as writing. They are both ordained clergy in the American Baptist Church and were seminary professors for years before retirement. We welcome them to our town and to the ever growing community at The Pines.