Tag: tennis

Beech Mountain’s 40th Anniversary: There’s no place like home

~ Karen J Rieley, M.A. ~ Leave a comment

Karen Rieley

Published in the Spring 2021 issue of Carolina Mountain Life – pp. 67-68

What do 40,000 yellow bricks, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, seven elephants, Jean-Claude Killy, Lance Armstrong, pole cats, bobcats and salamanders have in common? They are all part of the story of Beech Mountain, “the highest ski area in eastern America,” which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary throughout 2021.

Each month of 2021, residents and visitors will have opportunities to help Beech Mountain celebrate its 40th Anniversary. May is set aside as the official monthlong celebration, in recognition that The North Carolina General Assembly incorporated the Town of Beech Mountain in May 1981. Visitors and residents can submit comments, photos and other memorabilia to Beech Mountain’s digital time capsule via Instagram @beechmountainnc, by email to beechmountainvisitorcenter@gmail.com, or in person at the town’s birthday party, when the Time Capsule will be buried.

The Town Birthday Party will honor veterans and highlight new recreation programs that the town is offering. In celebration of Arbor Day, guests will be given 40 seedlings to help plant around Beech Mountain. Visit https://beechmtn.com/40th/ for details about all 40th Anniversary events and the town’s 40 Days of Family Fun.

May also highlights the opening of the town’s camping area at Shane Outpost Park, the town’s newest recreation facility. The park is located beside Buckeye Lake and within walking distance to Buckeye Recreation Center. It hosts 10 tent campsites, a natural play area, a low ropes course, bathroom/shower facilities, picnic tables and shelters, trail access and eventually an ADA-compliant amphitheater.

The Beech Mountain History Museum will open a Civil War Exhibit in May about the Battle on Beech, which was fought in 1864. It will also offer an audio exhibit featuring Ray Hicks, who was best known for telling of a group of stories known as the Jack Tales in which he wove fairy tale elements with realistic trappings of Southern Appalachian culture.

In August, the Hi-Lo Adventure Trail, which begins and ends on Beech Mountain, will open with a free High-Lo Merchant Expo at the Buckeye Recreation Center. Visit the Town of Beech Mountain Visitor Center to pick up Hi-Lo maps that highlight fun activities and stops along the trail, including hiking, fishing, water sports, out-of-the-way stops like the Dry Run Grocery Store in Butler, TN, and the old Neva Community Center’s farmers market, as well as better known stops like Doe Mountain, the Watauga Lake Winery and Mast General Store.

“The Hi-Lo Adventure Trail is designed to let people get to know what’s on the ‘Other Side of the Mountain’,” said Kate Gavenus, the town’s director of tourism and economic development.

Photos by Todd Bush

Dr. Thomas Brigham, a Birmingham, Ala., dentist and avid skier, in his search for a Southeast mountain that could support skiing, found Beech Mountain in the late 1960s. At more than 5,000 feet, Beech Mountain’s cold winter climate makes skiing possible from November through early April most years. He approached local businessmen Harry and Grover Robbins who were interested in building a golf course. They attracted 40 investors of $20,000 each to enable them to purchase more than seven square miles. They divided it into lots and subdivisions and formed the Carolina Caribbean Corporation (CCC).

The CCC created a ski resort, golf course, pool and tennis facilities. It built houses based on an alpine Bavarian village theme and laid out roads and water and sewer services.

Charlotte-based designer Jack Pentes, who had helped Grover Robbins design Tweetsie Railroad, designed the Land of Oz theme park. The Land of Oz’s Yellow Brick Road was made of 40,000 glazed bricks. Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, along with other stars, attended the Land of Oz opening day ceremony in 1970.

The Beech Mountain Property Owner’s Association (POA) was formed in 1970 to collect assessments for the maintenance of roads and recreation areas. That was also the year that well-known and much-beloved resident Fred Pfohl first started working at Beech Mountain’s ski resort. His next working gig was with the Land of Oz.

Jean-Claude Killy and other famous skiers put Beech Mountain’s ski slopes on the map in the 70s by competing in the North Carolina Ski Cup professional ski races. 

The POA took over ownership and operation of community services in 1974. Pfohl was the first elected and longtime mayor of Beech Mountain, spearheading countless town projects. His late wife, Margie, and he opened Fred’s General Mercantile in 1979, and the store has been open every day since.

After the town was incorporated in 1981, the POA reorganized as Beech Mountain Club to take over management of the golf course and recreational facilities. Today, the club’s recreation campus features an interactive family pool surrounded by a fitness center, pickleball and tennis courts, pavilion, playground, day camp and a wide range of social events, classes, group excursions, presentations, interest clubs and groups.

In September 1984, the Clyde Beatty Circus was coming to Beech Mountain. When the trucks could not haul the elephants up to mountain, they walked up. Phfol and other town leaders got a ride on them.

Ski Beech was purchased by the Costin family in 1986. Now known as Beech Mountain Resort, it offers snowmaking capabilities that cover 100 percent of the ski slopes, a one-of-a-kind bar at the top of the mountain called 5506’, and an onsite brewery. Non skiers can enjoy onsite tubing with over 700 feet of runs in the winter and mountain biking, disc golf, scenic lift rides and Mile High Yoga in the summer, making the resort a year-round destination.

Beech Mountain and its N.C. Highway 184, which gains 1,450 feet in altitude in three miles, has a long history in the biking world. The mountain has hosted four national bike championships, such as the Tour DuPont, which Lance Armstrong famously won in 1995 and finished first or second each year from 1993 to 1996.

Lees-McRae College’s mountain biking team, which uses the mountain to train, has the nation’s only collegiate Cycling Studies. The team has produced 10 Team National Championships and 59 Individual National Champions since 2001.

The Land of Oz is now family-owned as well. Although COVID-19 has restricted operation, normally the theme park runs “Journey with Dorothy Tours” on select days in June and July as part of Beech Mountain’s Family Fun Month. It also hosts “Autumn at Oz Festival,” one of the world’s largest Wizard of Oz festivals, on two consecutive weekends (Friday through Sunday) in early September. Private tours are available in June through early October.

At an elevation of 5,506 feet, the town draws tourists year-round, many seeking adventure on the winter ski slopes, as well as more seeking cool mountain air, lush trails and country club amenities in the summer.

“The town has 66 miles of street with about 2,500 homes and condos and 3,000 vacant lots ready to be someone’s next home for year-round living or as a second home that tourists may rent,” said Jim Brooks, owner of Beechwood Realty.

The Town of Beech Mountain today is home to at least 53 businesses employing more than 700 people. It is part of a thriving economic corridor created between Beech Mountain and the surrounding areas of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

Town Manager Bob Pudney reports that Beech Mountain’s short-term rental business has grown quickly. “Our goal is to continue building a vibrant resort destination that offers year-round activities with controlled growth in keeping with the charm and history of the town.”

“It’s exciting to see so many new people buying property here on Beech Mountain,” said Pfohl. “I hope they are able to appreciate the wonderful atmosphere and peace of life that the town offers, just as my family and I have, even as we continue to grow and plan for Beech’s future.”

Beech Mountain’s 40th Anniversary: There’s no place like home

~ Karen J Rieley, M.A. ~ Leave a comment

Karen Rieley

Published in the Spring 2021 issue of Carolina Mountain Life – pp. 67-68

What do 40,000 yellow bricks, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, seven elephants, Jean-Claude Killy, Lance Armstrong, pole cats, bobcats and salamanders have in common? They are all part of the story of Beech Mountain, “the highest ski area in eastern America,” which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary throughout 2021.

Each month of 2021, residents and visitors will have opportunities to help Beech Mountain celebrate its 40th Anniversary. May is set aside as the official monthlong celebration, in recognition that The North Carolina General Assembly incorporated the Town of Beech Mountain in May 1981. Visitors and residents can submit comments, photos and other memorabilia to Beech Mountain’s digital time capsule via Instagram @beechmountainnc, by email to beechmountainvisitorcenter@gmail.com, or in person at the town’s birthday party, when the Time Capsule will be buried.

The Town Birthday Party will honor veterans and highlight new recreation programs that the town is offering. In celebration of Arbor Day, guests will be given 40 seedlings to help plant around Beech Mountain. Visit https://beechmtn.com/40th/ for details about all 40th Anniversary events and the town’s 40 Days of Family Fun.

May also highlights the opening of the town’s camping area at Shane Outpost Park, the town’s newest recreation facility. The park is located beside Buckeye Lake and within walking distance to Buckeye Recreation Center. It hosts 10 tent campsites, a natural play area, a low ropes course, bathroom/shower facilities, picnic tables and shelters, trail access and eventually an ADA-compliant amphitheater.

The Beech Mountain History Museum will open a Civil War Exhibit in May about the Battle on Beech, which was fought in 1864. It will also offer an audio exhibit featuring Ray Hicks, who was best known for telling of a group of stories known as the Jack Tales in which he wove fairy tale elements with realistic trappings of Southern Appalachian culture.

In August, the Hi-Lo Adventure Trail, which begins and ends on Beech Mountain, will open with a free High-Lo Merchant Expo at the Buckeye Recreation Center. Visit the Town of Beech Mountain Visitor Center to pick up Hi-Lo maps that highlight fun activities and stops along the trail, including hiking, fishing, water sports, out-of-the-way stops like the Dry Run Grocery Store in Butler, TN, and the old Neva Community Center’s farmers market, as well as better known stops like Doe Mountain, the Watauga Lake Winery and Mast General Store.

“The Hi-Lo Adventure Trail is designed to let people get to know what’s on the ‘Other Side of the Mountain’,” said Kate Gavenus, the town’s director of tourism and economic development.

Photos by Todd Bush

Dr. Thomas Brigham, a Birmingham, Ala., dentist and avid skier, in his search for a Southeast mountain that could support skiing, found Beech Mountain in the late 1960s. At more than 5,000 feet, Beech Mountain’s cold winter climate makes skiing possible from November through early April most years. He approached local businessmen Harry and Grover Robbins who were interested in building a golf course. They attracted 40 investors of $20,000 each to enable them to purchase more than seven square miles. They divided it into lots and subdivisions and formed the Carolina Caribbean Corporation (CCC).

The CCC created a ski resort, golf course, pool and tennis facilities. It built houses based on an alpine Bavarian village theme and laid out roads and water and sewer services.

Charlotte-based designer Jack Pentes, who had helped Grover Robbins design Tweetsie Railroad, designed the Land of Oz theme park. The Land of Oz’s Yellow Brick Road was made of 40,000 glazed bricks. Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, along with other stars, attended the Land of Oz opening day ceremony in 1970.

The Beech Mountain Property Owner’s Association (POA) was formed in 1970 to collect assessments for the maintenance of roads and recreation areas. That was also the year that well-known and much-beloved resident Fred Pfohl first started working at Beech Mountain’s ski resort. His next working gig was with the Land of Oz.

Jean-Claude Killy and other famous skiers put Beech Mountain’s ski slopes on the map in the 70s by competing in the North Carolina Ski Cup professional ski races. 

The POA took over ownership and operation of community services in 1974. Pfohl was the first elected and longtime mayor of Beech Mountain, spearheading countless town projects. His late wife, Margie, and he opened Fred’s General Mercantile in 1979, and the store has been open every day since.

After the town was incorporated in 1981, the POA reorganized as Beech Mountain Club to take over management of the golf course and recreational facilities. Today, the club’s recreation campus features an interactive family pool surrounded by a fitness center, pickleball and tennis courts, pavilion, playground, day camp and a wide range of social events, classes, group excursions, presentations, interest clubs and groups.

In September 1984, the Clyde Beatty Circus was coming to Beech Mountain. When the trucks could not haul the elephants up to mountain, they walked up. Phfol and other town leaders got a ride on them.

Ski Beech was purchased by the Costin family in 1986. Now known as Beech Mountain Resort, it offers snowmaking capabilities that cover 100 percent of the ski slopes, a one-of-a-kind bar at the top of the mountain called 5506’, and an onsite brewery. Non skiers can enjoy onsite tubing with over 700 feet of runs in the winter and mountain biking, disc golf, scenic lift rides and Mile High Yoga in the summer, making the resort a year-round destination.

Beech Mountain and its N.C. Highway 184, which gains 1,450 feet in altitude in three miles, has a long history in the biking world. The mountain has hosted four national bike championships, such as the Tour DuPont, which Lance Armstrong famously won in 1995 and finished first or second each year from 1993 to 1996.

Lees-McRae College’s mountain biking team, which uses the mountain to train, has the nation’s only collegiate Cycling Studies. The team has produced 10 Team National Championships and 59 Individual National Champions since 2001.

The Land of Oz is now family-owned as well. Although COVID-19 has restricted operation, normally the theme park runs “Journey with Dorothy Tours” on select days in June and July as part of Beech Mountain’s Family Fun Month. It also hosts “Autumn at Oz Festival,” one of the world’s largest Wizard of Oz festivals, on two consecutive weekends (Friday through Sunday) in early September. Private tours are available in June through early October.

At an elevation of 5,506 feet, the town draws tourists year-round, many seeking adventure on the winter ski slopes, as well as more seeking cool mountain air, lush trails and country club amenities in the summer.

“The town has 66 miles of street with about 2,500 homes and condos and 3,000 vacant lots ready to be someone’s next home for year-round living or as a second home that tourists may rent,” said Jim Brooks, owner of Beechwood Realty.

The Town of Beech Mountain today is home to at least 53 businesses employing more than 700 people. It is part of a thriving economic corridor created between Beech Mountain and the surrounding areas of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

Town Manager Bob Pudney reports that Beech Mountain’s short-term rental business has grown quickly. “Our goal is to continue building a vibrant resort destination that offers year-round activities with controlled growth in keeping with the charm and history of the town.”

“It’s exciting to see so many new people buying property here on Beech Mountain,” said Pfohl. “I hope they are able to appreciate the wonderful atmosphere and peace of life that the town offers, just as my family and I have, even as we continue to grow and plan for Beech’s future.”

The Way We Were: Hank Bonar

~ Karen J Rieley, M.A. ~ Leave a comment

Bonar family photo of son Robert Gregory, Hank II, wife of 43 years, Barbara, and son Henry III

KAREN RIELEY
PUBLISHED IN MARCH 2018 ISSUE OF THE RESIDENT NEWS –https://residentnews.net/2018/03/07/the-way-we-were-hank-bonar/

Henry Bascom (Hank) Bonar II grew up on a lake in Tampa and loved all that the water had to offer – boating, fishing, skiing and even duck hunting – so the opportunity to buy a house on the St. Johns River was one he couldn’t pass up. When his friend, Francis Langel, who worked at the time for the now defunct Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Company, urged him to buy Langel’s mother’s home on Morven Road, Hank examined his finances, worked up a budget and decided to buy it.

Nancy and Hank
Nancy Soderberg and Hank Bonar at his Morven Road home

That was in 1975, the same year he opened his own business. “My first wife, Barbara, thought I was crazy,” Hank said. Hank himself thought he might be able to afford the house for maybe a year. Hank acknowledges that his timing was a little suspect, given that the country was still feeling the negative effects of the 1973-75 Recession.

“I guess I’m kind of the dean of Morven Road at this point,” said Hank, who, at age 77, has lived in the house for 42 years, well past original predictions.That was in 1975, the same year he opened his own business. “My first wife, Barbara, thought I was crazy,” Hank said. Hank himself thought he might be able to afford the house for maybe a year. Hank acknowledges that his timing was a little suspect, given that the country was still feeling the negative effects of the 1973-75 Recession.

The home, built in 1941, sits on nearly one and three-quarters acres with amazing views of the Jacksonville skyline along the St. Johns River. It is the second largest home site on the road and has a huge rear yard lined with oak trees.

The house is unique among others on Morven Road as it is a one-story home. Hank renovated the house, most notably so that it would have no steps, a design feature that, while more common now, was unusual at the time. That turned out to be a help because Barbara was in a wheelchair before she died from pancreatic cancer in 2002.

The most unusual room in the house is the bar between the family room and living room. It features the original cypress wood from the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club bar. The house was designed by a New York architect in the Prairie School style that Frank Lloyd Wright and Henry Klutho made famous.

“This was a perfect environment for our two sons to grow up in,” Hank said. “They had woods for adventures, bonfires, dock parties, easy access to water so that they could enjoy our boat.” They named their boat “Skiduckfish,” because they used it to waterski, hunt ducks and fish.

Barbara also grew up in Tampa and met Hank in high school. Hank attended the University of the South for two years on full scholarship. “I wouldn’t give anything for that experience,” he said. Then, he went to the University of Florida for his engineering degree. Barbara and he moved to Jacksonville in 1967, and Hank spent a few years working for a construction company until he opened his own business, Bonar Engineering and Construction on Edgewood Avenue in 1975. Hank’s company provides engineering, general construction, refrigeration and training courses.

 

Nancy, Hank and Heads
The late Robert Head, his wife Elizabeth Head, Hank Bonar II and Nancy Soderberg enjoying time on the St. Johns River. Elizabeth is responsible for Hank’s and Nancy’s first date, according to Hank.

They have two sons, Henry III and Robert Gregory Bonar. Henry attended The Bolles School, and both sons graduated from The Episcopal School of Jacksonville. They inherited their father’s love of sports, playing soccer, tennis and especially football.

After college, Henry III spent a lot of time in Honduras and eventually married Jessica, a native of Honduras. They have two children, Henry IV and Valerie. Robert lives in California with wife Heather, from Connecticut. They have three children, Robert Gregory Bonar, Jr., Anna Barbara and Nick.

Like many admiring sons, Hank wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps in the refrigeration industry. But, just following Henry B. Bonar Sr. wasn’t enough. Hank want to take refrigeration further, and he has accomplished his goal.

Hank’s relationship with freezing goes all the way back to his grandfather, however. Hank’s grandfather moved the family from the home place in Kentucky to New Mexico then to Okeechobee, Florida, in the early 1900s, when Hank’s father, Hank Sr., was a boy. Now deceased, Hank Sr. used to tell stories about his father bringing home chunks of ice from the Okeechobee ice plant.

Hank included a quote by his father in his book that hints at his own philosophy of industrial refrigeration: “The biggest breakthrough in refrigeration really came when God made water freeze at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and turn to steam at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. These are the cornerstones of our knowledge. Then God related the growth of bacteria to these temperatures. These are the facts we live – or die – with. It’s up to man to take it from there.”

Today, his six employees, including son Henry, and he design and oversee construction of some of the largest, most complex, cutting-edge freezer and refrigeration facilities all over the world, including India, Russia, Ukraine, Trinidad, the Cayman Islands, St. Kitts (an island in the West Indies), and more. They primarily work with ammonia refrigerant to cool public refrigerated processing facilities as well as warehouses that serve just one company, such as Publix.

Hank has worked closely with the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses. He is often asked to advise professionals in other countries who want to learn more about the niche industry of big refrigeration. “They seek out our company because the local A & E’s (architects and engineers) don’t know how to build big refrigeration buildings correctly, and we have the reputation of being trustworthy and capable of doing the job right,” Hank said.

With his son, Henry, Hank has reached out to help the citizens of Puerto Rico. When one of their good clients said that they needed a generator, Henry found a $115,000 industrial generator and sent it to the country in faith that he would eventually be paid. To meet the need for home generators, Hank bought 30 and sent them to Puerto Rico, too. The company sent a repair person to Puerto Rico, as well, to help repair generator buildings, refrigeration systems for food and roofs. Henry and the repair person have been making regular trips to continue the work.

 

newspaper
Clipping from St. Petersburg Times, April 11, 1958, about Hank Bonar’s participation in one of the main attractions of the Third Annual Florida State Science Fair. Hank (center) directed the robot’s moves that another student and he had built.

Hank has accomplished so much in the fields of engineering, construction and refrigeration facilities one could easily define the man by his work. What really drives Hank, however, is sharing his knowledge.

“Education is my thing,” he said. “It is the hallmark of good living standards.”

Bonar’s book, Florida Comes of Age, tells the history of Florida’s refrigeration and frozen food distribution. He wrote the book partly as a way to help developing countries envision how they might handle perishable food more effectively.

“If the insights presented here help save or improve the quality of life of one individual, I have received my reward,” he wrote in the acknowledgments in his book. Maybe that is why he dedicated the second edition to “The Hungry Children of the World.”

“The evolution of refrigeration and the changing face of Florida are inextricably bound,” he wrote. Likewise, he believes, it is for developing countries. “Some of these places don’t even know what refrigeration is all about,” Hank said.

His belief in the importance of education led Hank to establish The Casey Carter Bonar Leadership Award in 2010 for Vanderbilt University to honor the memory of his late wife, Casey Carter Bonar, who Hank married after first wife Barbara died in 2007.

The university’s description of the award speaks to the many positive qualities of Casey, who died in 2010: “Based on the legacy of extraordinary leadership she left behind, this award is presented annually to a Vanderbilt undergraduate student who embodies the unique qualities that Casey brought to the university – leadership, broad collaboration, enthusiasm, passion for campus involvement, selfless service to Vanderbilt, and, always, dedication to positive change.”

Hank is engaged to Nancy Soderberg, a foreign policy expert who moved to Jacksonville 12 years ago and has taught at the University of North Florida for 10 years as Distinguished Visiting Scholar and Director of Public Policy Initiatives. Currently, she is running for Ron DeSantis’ seat in Congress in Florida’s sixth congressional district.

“Nancy’s thing is negotiating,” Hank said. “She gets things done.”

She founded the Public Service Leadership Program at UNF when she arrived and uses her extensive contacts in government and the nonprofit world to build a network of opportunities for UNF students to gain first-hand experience in the field, building their resume and contacts —keys to future employment.

Nancy and Hank say they are amazed at how many of the same countries they have visited throughout their lives but not at the same time. Elizabeth Head, who is the former associate vice president of development at University of North Florida, introduced Nancy and Hank seven years ago. Hank had been given tickets to the Florida Forum Speaker Series when Bill Clinton was scheduled to speak. He wanted someone to go with him, and Elizabeth suggested Nancy.

“Do you think she’d want to go with me?” Hank asked Elizabeth. She did.

 

“Hank later asked me to go to a boat show with him,” Nancy recalled. “I thought it was going to be a small boat. Well, a small boat did pick me up, but it took me to Hank’s 67-foot yacht that he calls ‘The Magic Castle,’ because, before Hank bought it, the boat belonged to a family relative who was a magician.”

With Hank, there is always something more to learn. Hank’s hobbies are quite a departure from big refrigeration systems. He loves woodworking and made all the continuous-bow Windsor armchairs in his dining room. He won first place in the Florida State Fair for one of the other chairs he made. He likes to paint as well, and his works are hung around the house.

Also on shelves and tables throughout the house are examples of agatized coral, which his father got the State of Florida to officially declare in 1979 as the state stone. The coral is cut open and the exposed interior surface is polished until it is smooth and shiny to show its beautiful colors.

“I have tons of these pieces of coral stored in boxes that I hope will be displayed somewhere someday,” Hank said.

Hank is fond of motivational sayings, too. One of his favorite is “You’re only as old as you think you are.” A favorite toast of his is “May the best in your past be your worst in your future.” And, “Remember this is not a dress rehearsal.”

With Hank, there is always something more to learn.