Time to put “round-ball” excitement away for another year! It will, however, be a LONG time before any of us forget how badly Kansas whipped the Tar Heels! Our thoughts have to dwell on that two point loss to Kansas by the Davidson Wildcats and what might have been had we won. Regardless – it was a great ride for Davidson and seeing the many sheets still adorning fences, doorways and walls makes us smile with continuing wonderful memories.

Now, no longer glued to the television, we have time to think about spring planting. Our recent cool weather is perfect for pansies and tulips but gardens will soon give way to geraniums, petunias, impatiens, begonias and a multitude of beautiful summer blooms. We bring you the lowdown this week on the Carolina Cones Garden Center, which has an array of spring plants for sale, along with a “Boats for Goats” update featuring Maggie Peterson and Molly Frowine, “Queen for a Day” Janis Beam, a new grandson for David and Margaret Stauffer and fond memories of making phone calls from Dove Tire.

Gary Winge and Dee Winge of Carolina Cones will help you with all your gardening needs and while you are choosing plants you can look for their new mascot, free roaming rabbit “Hopper” (below).

Flowers and Ice Cream, too

Springtime is not complete without a visit to Carolina Cones’ Garden Center and a chance to talk flowers and shrubs with Gary Winge, his sister-in-law, Dee Winge, and his knowledgeable staff. This business, located on North Main Street in Cornelius, has a wonderful selection of fresh, healthy plant varieties and provides a feast for the eyes after a cold, grey winter. Many in our area come early just to wander the aisles to enjoy the bright colors knowing that it is best to wait a week or two before planting. (Remember that our County Extension Office forecasts mid-April as the last frost date for our area and we can still be surprised with cold nights until late this month.)

Gary first supplemented his ice cream business with plants almost 20 years ago and has had a thriving business since. New this year are “plant nannies,” a self watering terra cotta cone into which you insert a small glass globe, wine or beer bottle, filled with water. Fun! And Gary cannot keep them in stock. In addition to plants, there are picnic hampers, wine coolers, wind chimes, forest faces, pots, potting soil and a chance to visit with “Hopper,” the resident untethered rabbit adopted by Carolina Cones a year ago. Stop by and say Hello as you choose your bedding plants and other garden adornments this spring.

Girls get their goats

There has been quite a bit of publicity about “Boats for Goats” in the past few months. That is the name for a community service project led by Cannon School juniors Maggie Peterson and Molly Frowine with ninth grader Elizabeth Rubens as online fund-raising chair. Required to commit to ten service hours each year at Cannon School, Maggie, daughter of Dave and Mary Peterson of Cornelius, and Molly, daughter of Sam and Velda Frowine of Davidson, decided to raise money to fund goats through World Vision. Their goal initially was 20 goats at $75 each to go to families in Kenya and Haiti. The effort snowballed into goat ornaments at Christmas in Davidson and culminated in a “Boats for Goats Paddle Boat Regatta” last weekend at University Place, raising enough money to purchase a total of 660 goats for families in the developing world!

Just “kidding” around with eight week old half Boer kids were Maggie Peterson (left) holding “Snoopy” and Molly Frowine holding “Vanilla” as these young ladies basked in their successful Cannon School service project raising money to supply 660 goats to developing countries.

Hooray for these young ladies who have certainly gotten our attention and “gotten our goat!” DavidsonNews.net could not wait to congratulate them – with armfuls of real live goat. Good sports that they are, Molly and Maggie visited with Jan Tevepaugh on Grey Road to cuddle with “Snoopy” and “Vanilla,” part Boer kids born on Valentine’s Day this year. Will these energetic young ladies fund raise for goats another year? They are not certain at the moment but no doubt will succeed at whatever they try. Kudos to you, Maggie and Molly, on a job well done!

On a side note, DavidsonNews.net took a moment to catch up with Mark and Jan Tevepaugh’s children. We learned that Tom will graduate this May with a degree in Landscape and Ornamentals from NCSU. Younger sister Beth is a sophomore at UNC-CH and just returned from San Antonio and the Final Four! Beth had a good friend with an extra ticket to the Big Dance and she got to go along. What a memorable weekend even if the Tar Heels self destructed.

Queen Janis

Surprise! Davidson’s Janis Beam (right) was “Queen for a Day” recently as her area of the Admissions Office at Davidson College can attest. Lots of balloons and lots of fun as co-workers celebrated the BIG 6-0 with Janis. Later that evening Janis and her husband, Eddie, continued the celebration at a festive dinner with close friends.

Joining in to wish Janis many happy returns were her mother-in-law, Isabel Hoyle of Davidson, as well as David and Rush, two of their sons who live in Davidson. David is a manager at Summit Coffee. Rush and his wife, Erin, live on South Street close to Rush’s job as Director of Youth Ministries at Davidson United Methodist Church. Janis and Eddie’s oldest son, Stowe, and his wife, Caroline, live in San Francisco. Stowe is working for Scientific Certification Systems. Caroline works at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Happy news for all the Beams: Stowe and Caroline are expecting their first child in October. Soon-to-be Grandpa Eddie and Grandma Janis are all smiles!

Folks to Know: Dove Tire is worth a stop

“Around Davidson” is true to its name this week with a visit to a business “around” Davidson. Many who have lived in North Mecklenburg for the past few decades recognized Steve and Beth Dove‘s “Love Story” featured in last Sunday’s Charlotte Observer when readers share their tales of romance. A visit with Steve (to rib him about his romance) and his brother, Bobby, this week during a car inspection at Dove Tire Service Inc., provided a wonderful chance to introduce the business to our readers. Friendly, honest service for tires, alignments, balancing, oil change, inspections and more is available at the corner of Route 115 and McCord Road just south of the Hwy. 115/Sam Furr intersection.

Gotta love the t-shirt advertising Dove Tire Service, Inc. which Steve Dove reluctantly agreed to “wear” as he posed for the DavidsonNews.net photo flanked by his brother, Bobby (l) and longtime employee, Oscar Hunt (r).

The red brick building with the small sign on a tree was originally a diner and kitchen, followed by a bait shop and finally a service for tires and recaps with Jimmy Dove who bought the property in the mid 1960’s. Jimmy and his wife, Helen, raised three boys on adjoining land and continue to live there. Their youngest son, Tim Dove, lives in Raleigh. Their older sons, Steve and Bobby Dove, run the business today.

Bobby and his wife, Janet, live in Huntersville. Their daughter, Kelly, is a junior at UNC-Greensboro. Their son, Nathan, is a junior at North Mecklenburg High School. Steve, on the other hand, first married in 2004. He and his wife, Beth also live in Huntersville. Beth has two daughters, Samantha (14) and Allison (13) from a previous marriage and with Steve, has added two more, Emmalee (3) and Sara Beth (18 months). Fun to check out all the family photos in the waiting room while your car is being serviced.

This property has special memories for young people in the 1950’s and 1960’s since it was the closest pay phone to Davidson (other than the one in the Davidson College Union) allowing teens to place a local call to Charlotte. This telephone was in high demand by high school and college students who wanted to call their Derita and Dilworth dates without incurring a long distance charge. That’s right! In the 50’s and 60’s, it was a long distance call from North Mecklenburg to Charlotte. Dove’s pay phone cost only pennies!

Today the phone booth is gone but Steve and Bobby, along with longtime employee, Oscar Hunt, are there to take care of your car, truck, tractor or commercial vehicle. In addition to their business, Steve and Bobby are active in First Presbyterian Church in Huntersville. Bobby is particularly well known for his beautiful, clear tenor voice found in the church choir as well as solo singing in the North Mecklenburg Community Chorus and at weddings in our area. With big name commercial franchises sprouting like chickweed in our area, it is somehow refreshing to know that local, family owned businesses like Dove Tire continue to serve the public with “down home charm!”

Cradle News

Congratulations to David and Margaret Stauffer of Davidson who have a new grandbaby. Charles Edward Stauffer, Jr., was born on March 11, 2008, to proud parents, Amanda and Chuck Stauffer of Charlotte. Baby Charlie weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and stretched to 21 1/2 inches. Grandma Margaret had mentioned earlier this winter that “wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a little red headed baby boy,” and Charlie “fit the bill” perfectly. Amanda’s parents, Low and Brucie Harry, live in Charlotte so there have been many helping hands for the new parents.

Paternal great grandparents, Margaret and Don Thomas, of Wendell, N.C., came recently to see their new great grandson, Charlie, as well as visit their great granddaughters, Mary Stuart (2) and Molly (1), daughters of Jenny and the Stauffer’s oldest son, Tom, also of Charlotte. Uncle Jeff Stauffer, youngest son of Margaret and David, traveled to Charlotte on business last month and was delighted to greet his new nephew. Jeff works for Nieman-Marcus and is living in Dallas, Tx.

Noteworthy Notes

Don’t forget Belle Banks’ Quarterly Book Review at the Davidson Town Hall next Tuesday evening, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Also, the Horticulture Club of North Mecklenburg High School will have its Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, April 19, from 8 a.m.-noon at the Greenhouse behind the bus parking lot. New feature this year is an array of drought tolerant plants. Come early. The plants, all of which are grown and nurtured by the horticulture students, disappear in a hurry.

The combined Lions’ Clubs of North Mecklenburg County are hosting their annual charity Russell B. Knox Memorial Golf Tournament on Monday, April 28. Funds raised from the event will benefit sight impaired persons as well as local projects such as the Ada Jenkins Center. Call Harold Little (704-892-6241) or George Board (704-663-0371) for player entry forms, sponsorship forms or general information.