John Kimbirl and granddaughter, Meghan, love their Wildcats!
Just noticed that next Monday, January 23, is Chinese New Year. Davidson College’s popular annual celebration, complete with fireworks, is scheduled Saturday, Jan. 28. Watch DavidsonNews.net for the details.
Speaking of catching action, we noticed two very special Wildcat Enthusiasts at a recent basketball game. Sporting very carefully applied face paint were John Kimbirl of Davidson and his granddaughter, Meghan. Nine year old Meghan is the daughter of Peggy and John’s son, Brad Kimbirl and his wife, Jill, who live in Belmont. When asked if she would like to be a cheerleader, Meghan emphatically says “NO”. She wants to be the Davidson Mascot!
Around Davidson has some more news today of Maggie Sellers and other budding musicians in our area. In addition we report on weddings and births in Janet Makee’s family and a Boy Scout Troop 58 trip to Ft. Sumter and the Yorktown. There are also notes about musical events and snow in Seattle.
Elizabeth and Michael married in California.
JANET MAKEE HAS LOTS OF NEWS
Crobsy (l) and Finley are the children of Scott and Aisha Makee.
Davidson resident Janet Makee works as a registered nurse at Lake Norman Urgent Care at Exit 36 in Mooresville. A longtime Davidson resident, Janet has three grown children who had quite an exciting year in 2011. Janet’s daughter, Elizabeth, married Michael Schott in San Francisco City Hall last February 28 and have made their home in San Diego.
Andrew and Aleah married in Italy.
Three months later, Janet was a grandmother for the second time. Her son, Scott Makee, and his wife, Aisha, who live in Charlotte, welcomed a second child and second son, Crosby Harrison Makee, on May 28. Big brother, Finley, who turned two on August 4, was delighted (mostly) to have a new baby brother.
Then last fall, Janet’s older son, Andrew Makee, married Aleah Wicks on September 28, in Italy. This young couple is making their home in Tryon, NC, on an 18 acre farm. Congratulations to Janet and her whole family.
Oh no! Not grenades!
MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS
It wasn’t too many years ago that your intrepid correspondent and the late Joanne Shackelford took our troop of fourth, fifth and sixth grade girl scouts to Ft. Sumter and the Yorktown. We never got to raise the flag but we did sleep stacked three high on the Yorktown, ate in the mess, and stood in awe of the size of this vessel. Boy, we had it easy!
After flag raising, the scouts got to tour Ft. Sumter.
Scoutmaster John Bragg of Davidson’s Boy Scout Troop 58, boarded an early morning bus with 41 scouts and 13 other adults in the early morning darkness on January 7 and headed for Ft. Sumter to raise the flag and continue to the Yorktown for an overnight stay. Boy Scouts got the non-commissioned officers’ quarters and slept pretty tight. John’s comment said it all: “After sleeping fifty of us in the cramped bunks stacked four high like firewood, I am looking forward to the comparative roominess of my lightweight backpacking tent on our February trip!”
Asking John for a trip report, he was able to send me a wonderful few paragraphs penned by scout parent and willing “chaperone,” Gerardo Marti, a Davidson College sociology
professor who has two sons, Zach and Nathan, in the troop. It is a delight to read – download and read it here (PDF).
Troop 58 meets on Tuesday nights at 7:00 in the DCPC Congregation House.
Contact Scoutmaster, John Bragg at 704-377-0261, or for more information go
to their website at www.davidsontroop58.com
Hooray for Maggie and her trombone!
MUSIC IN HER FUTURE
After the report on Sylvie Stanback and her recent oboe success, we heard from the Sellers family about Maggie and her trombone expertise. Maggie, the daughter of Pat and Kathryn Firmin-Sellers, is an 8th grader at Randolph International Baccalaureate School in Charlotte. We congratulate Maggie who, like Sylvie Stanback, made the South Central District Honors band, as 3rd chair trombonist in the 7th/8th grade division. She’ll also be auditioning for the All-State Honors Band in March.
Why trombone? Maybe listening to Dad Pat who has a long history of trombone playing from junior high, high school and even the Davidson Jazz Ensemble in his Davidson College student days. Maggie started playing trombone 2 1/2 years ago and takes weekly lessons from Ruth Petersen, who is the band director at Bailey Middle School, and currently plays in the band at Randolph IB. She follows right behind is her brother, Ben, who started trombone lessons last summer.
Maggie and Ben, a sixth grader, each spent their elementary grades at Davidson Elementary School before beginning middle school at Randolph IB. Trombone may be Maggie’s musical instrument, but she also loves to sing (particularly Adele songs). At age four, she started at Dance Davidson and continues to dance each week and perform in their spring productions.
In addition to the activities above, Maggie enjoys knitting and drawing. She ultimately wants to be an astronaut, and likes her math classes in school the most. Bet Maggie, Ben and Dad have some wonderful jam sessions in their Lake Davidson home! Congratulations, Maggie.
One last note from Ruth Petersen, Maggie’s trombone teacher: There are three more students from Bailey Middle School who earned spots in the 2012 South Central District Middle School Honors Band and will participate in the late January clinic at Lenoir-Rhyne. Further congratulations to Delainie Hendershot (flute), Meredith Steele (clarinet) and Matthew Dahlem (snare drum).
A MUSICAL INTERLUDE
Keeping in tune with music news, we remind our readers about the Musical Interlude tomorrow from 12:30-1:30 in the Sloan Music building on the Davidson College campus. This event is free and open to the public. The performance is called “Davidson’s Got Talent” and includes pianists Jordan Kvanvig, Clara Gerdes and Joann Rautenberg. Flautist Martha Gerdes will perform as well as singer Katy Hoffler accompanied by her saxophonist husband, John. Cynthia Lawing puts these programs together with great care. Marvelous music not to be missed.
FIGARO, FIGARO, FIGARO!
Hearing “Figaro” means Mozart and the light hearted classic comic opera, “The Marriage of Figaro.” Come Friday or Saturday evenings, January 20 or 21, to hear six students and three faculty members (with Michael Rowland at the piano and Jacquelyn Culpepper directing) perform a slightly abbreviated version of this work. Sounds like fun – especially with free admission. The 150 seat Tyler-Tallman Hall in the Sloan Music Building on campus is the setting. Admission is free and the production is dedicated to opera enthusiast, the late Robert Whitton. See you there.
The view of Jessica's street in Seattle.
NOTEWORTHY NOTE
Know anyone in Seattle who is getting unprecedented snow? Jessica Keener, daughter of Lynn and Gene Keener of Davidson, sent us this photo of her street – sitting quietly while the flakes came down. Too slippery to drive, too slick to navigate on foot…a good day to stay in and savor the hot chocolate! (Jessica relocated to Seattle last summer.)
SEND US YOUR NEWS
Have news for Around Davidson? Write to Brenda Barger at hbarger@bellsouth.net.
