Carol Clay, Broker/REALTOR Brevard NC Real Estate Specialist

Here in western North Carolina, one of the most reliable signs that spring is here and summer is close at hand has nothing to do with the blooming dogwood trees or the hummingbirds. All you have to do is take a drive up Hwy 64 west, about 20 minutes from downtown Brevard towards the Lake Toxaway area. That’s where you’ll find Eddy Hoots hard at work under the shade of the trees and alongside the chiseled mountainside, creating his chain saw carved bears.

Eddy Hoots discovered his passion for his special kind of chain saw carved bears nearly twenty years ago during a trip to Montana with his father. "They're on every corner out there and I just had to have one" he says. Hoots has been fine tuning his art form ever since and now makes a living carving bears in various locations around western North Carolina, including one of his favorites spots along Hwy.64 in Lake Toxaway during the spring and summer months.

Although he admits that sometimes there's more talking than carving going on, it can take a full day to carve even the smaller bears and many more to create the larger, more complex varieties. Even after the carving is complete, it will be a while before the bears will be ready for their new home. Experience has taught him that it can take as much as a year for the wood to season before it can move on to the finishing stage where the surface is burned to create the rich dark color. From there it's brushed, varnished, and lastly brought to life with marble eyes. It's a family affair and Eddie's wife and two children each play a part in the finishing process. Even the youngest member of the Hoots family, Eddy's 6 year-old son helps out with the varnishing.

Like any artist, Eddy is particular about the type of material he likes to work with and luckily for him, local white pine is his favorite. "Most times my wood finds me" thanks to the local builders who provide him with a constant supply of pine trees for him to work with. The soft wood is perfect for sculpting the smiling faces and all the life-like details that make Eddy's bears so irresistible.

According to Eddy, his best selling bears are the ones he's designed to hang on the side of a tree or along a porch railing. But it's the loveable, life-size bears that draw the traffic at the Lake Toxaway location. In the summer and fall months, when visitor traffic is at its peak, there's a steady flow of cars pulling into the gravel parking lot where Eddie and his bears have set up shop.

Which of the bears is Eddy's favorite? It's the one he keeps at home; the one he bought years ago on his last trip to Montana with his dad.

If you're ever up this way, traveling the mountain roads around Brevard, Boone, and Blowing Rock, keep you eyes open for North Carolina's own, Eddy Hoots and his Bear Den. Or, you can always visit Eddy and his bears online at the Bears Den.

In most small towns, there’s that one spot where the locals go to eat and in the Brevard, North Carolina area, it's the Country Skillet. You’ll find it on Old Rosman Highway just a few minutes west of Brevard in the town of Rosman. Don’t let the unassuming exterior fool you because inside you’ll find good country cooking and home town hospitality.

Family owned and operated, the Skillet is a favorite with local farmers and business folks, especially at breakfast where early morning conversations about crops, cows, and politics are served up with pancakes, fried eggs and grits, and maybe a side of homemade biscuits and gravy. It’s the kind of place where you can still get southern favorites like fried bologna and country ham. Lunch time features a daily vegetable special that’s extra special during growing season. Of course there’s also the usual hamburger, wraps, and BBQ plates. On Friday nite, you might want to stop in for the Catfish special and some sweet tea.

The restaurant has been at this location, under different names for over 15 years. But for the last four years, it's been Larry McCarter and his family who have made the Country Skillet a local favorite. The McCarter family has been in the restaurant business for over 50 years so they know a thing or two about what it takes to make it all work. "It's that combination of friendly service, reasonable prices, and of course really good food" says Larry.

When you go, be sure to say hey. Larry and his sister Cindy, along with Larry’s daughter Jamie are there most days along with head waitress “Wewe”.

The Country Skillet is open Monday - Friday from 6:30 am - 7:30 pm and Saturday from 6:30 am - 2:00 pm. You can reach them at 828-884-7605.

(Pictured Left to Right: Head waitress Wewe, sister Cindy, and daughter Jamie)

Never let it be said that being in real estate isn't an adventure!

The other day Robert met with some new clients who wanted to look at some homes and land. Like many folks we work with, they live out of state and are looking for a seasonal mountain get away. It had been raining for several days and was still raining on the day of the appointment, but it didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm. So off they went.

Everything was going just fine until the very last showing of the day. The destination was a mountain cabin, tucked back in the woods, about 10,000 miles from nowhere. Ok, maybe it isn't exactly 10,000 miles but it feels that way when you're out there - which can actually be an attractive feature for many people.

Unfortunately, the road in hadn't been maintained very well. Getting down the road to the cabin wasn't so bad, but coming back up was an entirely different story. Between the ruts, the rain, and the lack of gravel, the road was one big muddy "slip-n-slide". To make matters worse, one side of the road was straight up, and the other side was straight down leaving little room for error.

After several failed, heart thumping attempts, they had to call in the reinforcements. Thank goodness, we've kept our AAA membership up. It took about an hour for the tow truck to arrive, but it was a welcomed site for sure!

Truth is, during that hour spent waiting for the tow truck, Robert and the clients had a great time getting to know each other. Lucky for us, they are the kind of folks who just took the whole situation in stride and even paid for the tow truck! How great is that.

As I see it, this whole experience is an analogy for being successful in the real estate business...and in life. Sometimes the road you're on isn't an easy one to travel and it can be hard to get any traction. You might even need a little help getting through the tough patches. But what's important is that you find a way to keep moving forward.

On the surface, some people could say this was a really lousy way to end the day....that it was a huge inconvenience. But it's all in how you look at things. Robert had a great adventure with what turned out to be great new clients - the kind that you know you'll be friends with long after the deal is done.

This particular cabin (like some of goals in life) wasn't the easiest place to get to, but the pay off was enormous in so many ways.

During the winter months here in the mountains of western North Carolina, buyers and bears hibernate. In fact, up around where we live, after Thanksgiving you probably stand a better chance of seeing a bear than you do a buyer. This year, because of the slow down in the economy it was even quieter than usual.

We used the time to work on our business and it has payed off in spades. Like any business, you have to plant the seeds of success, then give them what they need in order to grow big and strong. So we worked on our website, fine tuned some proceedures, researched some things, and dug deep to make sure we would be ready when the market returned. A few weeks ago I wrote about the records we have been setting with our website and our internet marketing and those records have now been surpassed with new numbers.

Seems this increase in website traffic is a pretty good indicator. This past week, we had one closing, wrote an offer on another deal, juggled multiple offers on one of our listings, fielded phone calls from two new buyers who asked us to help them find a home, and have two listing appointments scheduled for this week. Plus we had several showings on a couple of our listings which tells me that maybe other agents are also seeing an increase in business.

All of this leaves me hopeful for the spring and summer season. Just like our native white squirrels, we do most of our work during the months from Easter to Thanksgiving and if this week is any kind of barometer, we'll be plenty busy.

One of America's most famous black vaudville comedians, Moms Mabley, was born on this date in 1894 in Brevard, North Carolina.

Born as Loretta Aiken, she was one of 12 children. When she was only 11 years old, her father died a sudden, accidental death forcing her mother to take in boarders to make ends meet. By the time she was 15, she had been raped twice and given birth to two children who were given up for adoption. It was her grandmother who eventually encouraged her to strike out on her own and escape her life with a tyranical stepfather and a much older husband whom she despised.

She discovered the entertainment business in Cleveland, Ohio, but it was in New York where she became part of the "chittlin circuit", performing in clubs that provided work for black entertainers and a venue for largely black audiences during a time of intense segregation. Her stage name developed after she took the last name of Jack Mabley, a former boyfriend. She was dubbed "Moms" because of her caring compassion for other performers. Her career included a stint at the famed Harlem Cotton Club and she was the first female comedian to appear on stage at the Apollo Theater where she became a regular, eventually becoming the longest running act in the theater's history.

By the 1960's she was performing in more mainstream venues including Carnegie Hall in 1962. She was billed as "The Funniest Woman in the World" and paved the way for future female comedians.

She died in White Plains, New York on May 23, 1975.



Source: Wikipedia, Findagrave.com