Ah, Spring!

Spring arrived last Sunday evening and aren’t we glad!  Walking around town you are sure to be showered with pear and cherry blossoms as the March winds blow.  Great weather for laundry on the line but hard on young seedlings so in need of a shower of rain.  And how about those NCAA basketball brackets?  Anyone in town choose the right teams for the Sweet Sixteen?  Do let us know.  (Afraid most of the millions of entries went into the “circular file” when Louisville and Pittsburgh lost.)

Around Davidson today visits with recently honored poet Lynn Dausman.  There is also news of this past weekend’s tour of The Copeland House with the Davidson Historical Society.  D.G. Martin sends a note about his Tar Heel Town visit on UNC-TV and we include a quiz for readers of this column who are savvy horticulturists.

Nature's beauty surrounds us but what is this purple plant?

OUR PIEDMONT’S PURPLE PALETTE

Drive out Davidson-Concord Road and you see a beautiful splash of purple in the unplanted fields just beyond Westmoreland Farm.  There are even patches in area yards that have not yet been caught in lawnmower blades.  What is this weed?  Or is it a weed?  Does it have a use other than its springtime beauty?  We would love to know.

The lovely landscape makes one think of the summer fields of lavender in England or the purple heather in the Scottish highlands.  Whatever the plant happens to be, we appreciate its beauty and the reminder how wonderful spring is in North Carolina.

Jan Copeland Hampton reviewed the history of the home

A VISIT TO THE COPELAND HOUSE

The Davidson Historical Society offered a most successful “members only” tour of the newly restored Copeland House this past Sunday afternoon.  A large group gathered for remarks and a slide show of the renovation by Jan Copeland Hampton followed by a question and answer period with her father, Don Copeland.

Elizabeth Martin greeted DHS members outside The Copeland House

This lovely Italianate-style dwelling is known as the Holt-Henderson-Copeland House denoting the owners since its construction in the 1850’s.  Dr. William Holt was Davidson’s first physician and his family lived in the house from 1862 until 1912 when Mrs. Miles Henderson purchased the home and ran it as a boarding house for Davidson College students.  In 1935 the Reverend William Creecy Copeland, a 1916 graduate of Davidson College, came to Davidson with his wife, Henrietta.  He preached in area churches while his wife ran the boarding house.  The Copeland’s six children are known to many in our area: Helen Copeland Oakes now  lives in Columbia, NC; Henrietta Copeland Christenbury lives in Concord, NC; Mary Copeland lives near Asheville; and the youngest, Don, lives in Cornelius with his wife, Carolyn.  (William Creecy Copeland, Jr. and his sister Nancy Copeland are deceased.)

After the death of his parents, Don was able to purchase the house in 1991 from the estate.  The house stood empty for almost two decades until Don, retired from his medical practice, decided to restore his childhood home.  After more than a year of painstaking work, the house returned to its original luster last spring.

Davidson classmates (from elementary through high school) Don Copeland and Martha Montgomery enjoyed a visit

What now?  Don and Carolyn Copeland’s daughter, Jan Copeland Hampton, is planning an “Event Center” at the home.  With spacious downstairs rooms and designs for a patio and ample parking at the back, the house lends itself to club gatherings, small receptions or other meetings.  At present a kitchen/catering staff would have to be hired from an outside source.  If you are interested in booking a party or talking about an event, be sure to call Jan at 704.663.0275.

(A little local history to add to Don and Carolyn Copeland:  They have three children, Jan, Ann and Don, and ten grandchildren.  Tyler Hampton, a son of Jan and her husband, Michael, runs the Cycle Shop at the intersection of Main Street and Concord Road – the old Duke Power Building.  Ann Copeland Rust, a teacher and member of the North Mecklenburg Community Chorus, is married to Chris Rust due to retire from teaching math and coaching at North Meck High School this summer.  Don Copeland and his wife, Angie, live in Mooresville where Don manages Gander Mountain, the outdoor store at the intersection of I-77 and Route 150…Copelands all around us!)

HONORS FOR LYNN DAUSMAN

What a pleasure to spend an afternoon with Lynn Dausman in her lovely townhome on North Faulkner Way in the New Neighborhood.  This energetic grandmother moved to Davidson with her husband six years ago to be closer to her daughter, Amy, who is married to local small animal veterinarian, John Schaaf, and their four children – a blessing for Lynn to have their support when her husband died two years ago.

With Rosie perched above her head, Lynn talks about her love of poetry

Lynn grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and has always enjoyed writing.  After marrying George Dausman, the couple lived in Oakton, VA, where Lynn was a preschool director and taught preschool teachers.  With a continuing interest in education, she now tutors adults at St. Therese in Mooresville in the ESL program.

Eager to get to know other area writers and to hear critiques of her work, Lynn was a part of Barbara Kidd Lawing’s writers’ group for awhile but wanting to focus on poetry, she now meets with two local groups and is also a member of the Charlotte Writers’ Club.  One poetry  class meets weekly at the Warehouse in Cornelius with Terry Wolfe as the teacher.  The other is a “Free Write Group” that meets on Tuesdays at Barnes & Noble without a teacher but rather just a group of good friends who care about putting words on paper.

Since the Charlotte Writers’ Club holds an annual contest, Lynn submitted two poems to the 2010-2011 contest and was delighted to receive an Honorable Mention for each.  Only one first prize is awarded followed by honorable mentions at the discretion of the judges.  Lynn’s first Honorable Mention is called “Finale” and tells of an elderly man’s response to last season’s musical, “Oklahoma,” produced by the Davidson Community Players.  The second Honorable Mention, “Cloth,” tells of a special jacket which belonged to her late husband.  (Lynn’s daughter, Amy, hooks rugs and plans to take this old, worn jacket apart and weave it into a rug for her mother so special memories of their time in Scotland can move from the closet hanger to the light of the living room.) (Read Cloth and Finale by Lynn)

D. G. MARTIN STROLLS MAIN STREET

Chapel Hill resident D. G. Martin grew up in Davidson, graduated from Davidson College and a while ago took a stroll on our Main Street for UNC-TV.  In case you missed the program segment about Davidson when it aired last year, it will run again next week in prime time on Thursday, March 31, at 8:00 p.m. on the UNC-TV channel.

If that evening is not convenient, view the episode, “Tar Heel Towns:  Davidson,” online at http://www.unctv.org/ourstate/episode301/index.html.  The promo is fun to read and follows here:

“This exciting show also features Tar Heel Towns: Davidson. Join D.G. Martin sharing highlights of his hometown of Davidson and a return to his alma mater, Davidson College. This historic college claims President Woodrow Wilson and former Secretary of State Dean Rusk among its alumni. It was also one of the few Southern academic institutions to remain open during the Civil War. Martin will guide you down Main Street for a visit to two long-standing fixtures of the Davidson community: The Soda Shop and Raeford’s Barbershop.”

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Have news for Around Davidson? Write to Brenda Barger at hbarger@bellsouth.net.