It’s mid-August and time to think school supplies, new students arriving at Davidson College and even the occasional moving van bringing a family to town. Busy days, but still we must endure those awful dog days of August when even the smallest outdoor activity soaks the back of your shirt with sweat. We can’t wait for those beautiful crisp fall days.
Today’s Around Davidson has news of a new grandbaby for Lance and Sue Stell, a welcome home for the Helfrich family and information about the upcoming Tennis Pro-Am at River Run Country Club. There is also an interesting report on “Sour Dough Starter” – looking forward and looking back at a Davidson bread making tradition.
A little bubbly for mom Audrey and dad Justin to celebrate the birth of Penelope, their first child
GRANDBABY TALK
Congratulations to Sue and Lance Stell who are grandparents for the second time. Baby Penelope Grace Cervero arrived on July 14, weighing 8 lbs. 1 oz. and stretching to 21 inches. Proud parents are Justin and Audrey Stell Cervero of Lenoir, N.C. Penelope is their first child. Paternal grandmother is Joan Gambino. also of Lenoir.
Grandma Sue holds new granddaughter Penelope
Close by to look in on their new niece is Ginger Stell, a second year student at the North Carolina State University School of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh, and Dean and Jen Stell of Walkertown, N.C., and their daughter, Meg, who is seven. Welcome Penelope!
HOME FROM OXFORD
Tim and Beth Helfrich with heir daughter, Zoë, enjoyed a hike to Rydal Mount, home of William Wordsworth in the Lake District of England
This summer, Tim joined some 50 other students (mostly secondary school teachers) for two months in Oxford where the classes focused on early British Romanticism. Beth and daughter Zoë traveled to Oxford as well, but returned to the States a few weeks before Tim. The Helfriches had a wonderful flat about a 20-minute walk from class, so the couple logged many miles walking with Zoë in her jogging stroller. Beth and Tim found many attractive pubs in the area and a favorite coffee shop, “The Missing Bean,” although it could hardly compare with the charm and ambiance of Tim’s Summit Coffee in Davidson. They traveled some by train and bus to London and Bath, and rented a car for sightseeing in the Lake District.
Zoë was a favorite of the Oxford students and was dubbed the most popular “crouton” of the Bread Loaf Oxford Program – i.e., the unofficial mascot of the group. Did they have a favorite meal while there? Oh, yes, “the chips,” exclaimed Beth (and we bet it was Zoë who wanted those yummy British French fries at every meal). Welcome home to Davidson, Beth, Tim and Zoë.
THE SOUR DOUGH SAGA
Hey! Didn't we already say Good-Bye to the Dennis Family? But (l-r) Joe, Kerry, Christy and Laurie had to make one last swing through town to pick up their sour dough starter!
Around Davidson just covered the Bread Loaf Program at Middlebury College which brings us to mention a Davidson “bread loaf” program deserving equal billing not only for its academic background but also for its nutritional value! How many in our town were recipients of a loaf of home baked bread from the late Louise Nelson? Louise, an esteemed economics professor at Davidson College from 1964-1988, was also a distinguished baker of bread. Each loaf had its beginning in a jar of sour dough starter that she proudly kept going by feeding weekly for more than 25 years. Your correspondent was the recipient of a loaf of bread, a cup of starter and hand-typed directions more than four years ago. What a gift! What responsibility! Louise could be as down-to-earth as the next person, but also downright intimidating with her upright posture and demands of excellence from young and old. Letting the gift of “Nelson sour dough starter” die on my watch was just not an option.
Louise Nelson
So every week for the past 220 or so, the Louise Nelson sour dough starter has been carefully tended with the resulting loaves mostly given to others in our community. First, you take one cup of starter and feed it a bit of sugar, water and potato flakes so it can ferment for next week’s baking. The second cup is mixed mainly with flour, oats, wheat germ and flax seed before allowing it to rest overnight and be ready to bake the next morning. Just imagine Louise’s resolve to care for her starter for more than two decades.
On trips out of town, someone always was found to “babysit” the starter. Lots of friends expressed interest in the mason jar gracing the top shelf of my ‘fridge but only two persons ever stepped up to the plate and took a cup which continues to this day: our youngest, Sam Barger (who likes adding cinnamon and raisins), and former DavidsonNews.net writer Laurie Dennis (who adds whatever is available in her kitchen and has a “winner” every week).
Sam bakes as often as his studies at UNC-Chapel Hill permit. Laurie, on the other hand, has just returned from summer in Paris, France, with her family, and is now driving west to a new home in Madison, Wis., with her starter carefully packed in a cooler. She says the sour dough starter and every resulting loaf of bread will always remind her of her wonderful years in Davidson. We know that Louise would be pleased that in addition to being renowned in the classroom, she is also renowned in the kitchen!
Louise Nelson passed away in November 2008, but fond memories of her continue every Wednesday when the 5×9 index card with carefully typed directions is pulled from its spot beside the toaster oven and another recipe of Louise’s delicious bread is forming in the mixer’s largest bowl. (Want to have your own cup of Louise’s starter? Just let me know – it comes complete with jar and recipe!)
CASINO ROYALE PLUS TENNIS
Last week Around Davidson mentioned a tennis extravaganza coming up in September to benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Here are the details. The 8th Annual Jill Lake/River Run Tennis Pro-Am will be held in River Run Sept. 24-26. Activities include a Friday evening cocktail party to meet the pros, a Saturday Pro-Am tennis tournament at the Tennis Center followed by a Buffet/Gaming/Dance Party at the Country Club, and a Sunday morning Pro-Am tennis final and all pro doubles matches.
Registration for the wonderful September weekend begins today. Call tennis pro George Husk at the River Run Tennis Center at 704.892.4994 or email him at ghusk@riverruncc.com.
A silent auction Saturday night will support the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. (Any ideas for a silent auction item? Please contact Aimee Symington-Husk at aimeesymington@mi-connection.com.) This is a popular event so register early and know that you are supporting a good cause.
Send us your news
Have news for Around Davidson? Write to Brenda Barger at hbarger@bellsouth.net.
CORRECTION: The item about the River Run Pro-Am tennis tournament was updated Sept. 21, 2010, with this correction: Only money from the Saturday silent auction will be donated to the Avon Walk.
