Festival Time in the Vineyards

By the now the grapes have been harvested, hauled to the winery, crushed, fermented, pressed and the new wine is resting comfortably in barrels and tanks.  The frenzy of activity has abated and it is time to party in the vineyards.

October is a time of harvest festivals.  Every weekend brings a slew of opportunities to enjoy the great weather and fall scenery.  The hard part is finding out what is happening where and choosing between the many options.

The paper will have listings for local events but to find out what’s happening farther afield  I have found the Internet is invaluable for making my plans.  One website that is particularly helpful is visitncwines.com.  This site is run by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Tourism.  All the wineries in the state are listed and there is a link to events that they have posted.  So whether you are just visiting wineries or looking for a special event this is a good place to start.

For Georgia wineries go to georgiawinecountry.com.  This site contains a list of wineries with links to their websites.  You might want to get on your favorite winery’s email list to be advised of any up coming events or specials.

If you want to get a weekly update of wine related events in your area, go to localwineevents.com.  Once you sign up you will receive an email of events posted from venues in your selected area.

Whether you research in the paper or online or just get in the car and drive, this is the perfect time to enjoy the fall scenery while visiting the many wineries in our area.

Journal of a Living Lady #407

Nancy White Kelly

Go to any town, big or small, and it appears that every business is either buying gold or giving flu shots. I got a phone call from my neighborhood grocery store reminding me that flu shots are available on aisle number one.

An appointment with my cancer doctor was only two days away so I decided to wait for him to give that shot to me. After battling serious cancer off and on since the mid-80’s, I still must regularly check-in for claustrophobic CAT exams, vampirish blood work, and radiating bone scans.

You would think I’d be used to all those tests by now. If anything, I dread these supposedly routine visits more than ever. You just never know when cancer, with a renewed vengeance, will again rear its ugly head ready to race to the finish line. I don’t fear death; I just dread the journey.

Thankfully I have been stable for many months. Bad memories linger. On a treatment day about three years ago, my doctor came into the chemotherapy room, gave me a darting glance, and hurriedly held an impromptu meeting with all the available nurses. Little did I suspect they were talking about me. Within an hour I was in a hospital bed and near death’s door with total kidney failure. Miraculously I recovered and was released from the chains of dialysis in less than six months.

Every time my oncologist sees me now, he seems puzzled. How could somebody with Stage 4 cancer survive two major bouts with the big C which included a stint with hospice? He quizzes me about health food I might be taking.

“Zip, zero, nada.”

Without fail, my smiling doctor points a finger toward heaven. In the early days I tried every herb and radical diet imaginable. During the intervening years I have taken every type chemo for my type cancer available. I have had so much radiation to my spine that I glow at night like a Halloween skeleton.

More than a Living Lady, I am a thriving lady. My oncologist sees so much illness and death that he is quick to tell me that I am a rare bright spot in his practice. He sees few long-term metastatic breast cancer survivors, especially after the disease has coursed its way through bones and lungs. It is as if my cancer has stopped in its tracks. The title of this column should be Journal of a Living Miracle.

The word “stable” is a wonderful word when you are in this battle. I don’t know why God chooses to prolong one life and not another. I am not more special or deserving than others who have fought or are fighting this tough opponent.

Today my doctor wanted me to have a flu shot. No problem.

A teen-age nursing assistant, obviously in training, appeared with a syringe. I don’t know who was more intimidated, the shot giver or the shot “givee.” My hope was that I wasn’t her first patient ever.

The young girl dabbed some alcohol on my upper arm and pieced the skin with the needle, not with a quick jab, but with a slow methodical push. It made me wish I had taken my grocer up with his offer on aisle number one.

nancyk@windstream.net

Robert Selden Duvall

by

William V. Reynolds

Robert S. Duvall who is descended from Robert E. Lee can actually trace his family back to

President George Washington. Washington had no biological children, but he adopted his wife’s,

Martha Curtis, after the death of their father. Martha’s son, John Curtis, had a son, Washington

Curtis, whose daughter, Mary, was Robert E. Lee’s wife.

Robert was born January 5, 1931 in San Diego California. His father was a career military officer

who later became an admiral and his mother was an amateur actor. He attended several schools

around the country because his military family was moving frequently. Robert majored in drama

at Principia College, Elsah, Illinois serving a term in the Army after graduating in 1953.

He began attending the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York City

studying under Sanford Meisner along with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. Meisner cast

Robert in the play “The Midnight Caller” which proved to be critical to his career. Horton Foote,

the author of the play, recommended Robert for the role of “Boo Radley” in the film version of

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) which was his first major role after his 1956 debut

in Somebody up There Likes Me.

Robert made his debut in a Western on TV’s The Virginian. He would follow this with guest

appearances in shows like Stony Burke, Shane, Cimarron Strip and The Wild Wild West. But his

big break came in True Grit (1969) where he played “Lucky” Ned Pepper opposite John

Wayne’s Rooster Cogburn. He is unforgettable in the final shootout scene where Wayne takes the

reins in his teeth and charges the outlaw band.

Two years later, Robert worked with Burt Lancaster in the memorable Western Lawman (1971).

The next year he portrayed Jesse James in The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972). In

this gritty revisionist Western, Robert is as cold as they come. That same year he worked with

Clint Eastwood in Joe Kidd (1972). Robert is an evil land-graber who shoots Mexican villagers

for target practice.

But Robert’s favorite role and the one he may be the most remembered for is that of Augustus

“Gus” McCrae in the television miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989). Even though there is a long

gap between this role and his latest Western, Robert comes across as a rough around the edges

ex-Texas Ranger.

In 2003 Robert teamed up with Kevin Costner where he plays a crusty old coot who wants to

preserve the frontier’s open range. His character is reminiscent of John Wayne’s Rooster

Cogburn. Robert’s latest Western was a miniseries for AMC called Broken Trail (2006). Here he

shrugs off the delinquency of the past to follow the cowboy code. Robert rescues five Chinese

women being used as sex slaves.

Here’s a reel memories salute to Robert S. Duvall a.k.a. Robert Duvall a.k.a. Gus McCrae.

William V. Reynolds is the author of “Murder

The Crush is On

They call this time in the winery “the crush”.  While I am sure it is because this is the time the ripe grapes are crushed to make wine, it could be just as descriptive of the crushing workload at the vineyards and wineries.

Pickers have fanned out among the vines with their 5 gallon buckets, each holding 20 pounds of ripe grapes.  They dump them into harvest bins that can hold nearly half a ton.  From the fields these bins are brought to the winery where they are dumped into a crusher/destemmer.  It is important to remove the stems as they can make a wine far to tannic or add a green vegetable flavor that can ruin the wine.

If the goal is to make a white, blush or rose’ wine, the crushed grapes are then placed in a press where the juice is pressed off the grape skins and then sent to large tanks to settle.  All this must be done within hours of picking the grapes.  Time is at a premium and most crews work from sun up to sundown.  Add in the prospect of rain or an equipment malfunction and it can become a frenzy of activity.

Modern wineries employ a vast array of equipment to complete their tasks quickly and efficiently, but all this comes at a price.  Just the crusher/destemmer, press and a couple of pumps can easily cost $50,000 to $100,000.   Even modest sized stainless steel tanks can run in the tens of thousands of dollars each and cooling equipment can add tens of thousands more.   With the labor intensive growing and harvesting of the grapes and the cost of the equipment to turn it into wine it is a miracle that wine doesn’t cost many times the price.

If you have chance to drive out to one of the larger wineries over the next couple of weeks you will get to see all this unfolding right before your eyes.  Most wineries are wide open now so they can process the grapes with the least delay and inconvieance.  There is no time to be opening and closing those huge barn doors.

While the big wineries employ dozens of workers and hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment to turn grapes into wine, the smallest wineries like those in Cherokee and Graham Counties, use modest sized equipment and a lot of manual labor.   A couple of friends and a hand-powered crusher/destemmer can process a ton of grapes in an afternoon.  While that is small change for the big boys it will yield 150 gallons or 750 bottles of wine.  Do that five or six times during harvest and you will have plenty of wine on hand and have no reason to visit the gym until New Years.

Daisy

Our foster spied Daisy relaxing out of the hot sun under her car one day. Daisy wriggled out and has stayed with this kind lady for the past few weeks. She also knows just how to worm her way into your heart! She says she wants to learn how to crawl into your lap and stay with you forever! Daisy is a Beagle/Mt. Feist combination and weighs 15 lbs. She is approx. 4-6 months old. She is current on her shots. For more information about this sweetie call Lynne Wilson @ 828-557-3461.

Explore Smokies’ Cataloochee Valley on Guided Hike

Waynesville, NC—Fall is the perfect time to fall in love with the Great Smoky Mountain National Park all over again. Catch the first glimpses of autumn color, explore old cabins and cemeteries and even ring the bell of a picture-perfect mountain chapel during a guided hike along Little Cataloochee Trail with the Friends of the Smokies.

Tuesday, Oct. 4, hiking enthusiast and author Danny Bernstein (Hiking North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Heritage), will lead this 6.5 mile hike.  The hike is moderate in difficulty and has a total elevation gain/descent of 1,500 feet, and features new improvements from the Trails Forever program. Time permitting, hikers will also visit the elk herd in Cataloochee Valley.

Participants may gather to depart from Asheville at 8:30 a.m., or off I-40 exit 24 at 9 a.m. Exact meeting locations specified upon registration. Hikers should come prepared with food, water and appropriate hiking clothes, and should expect to spend all day on the trail. A donation of $25 is requested, and includes a complimentary membership to Friends of the Smokies. Donations will benefit Trails Forever, a program dedicated to trail improvement projects in the Smokies. There is no cost to current Friends of the Smokies members.

Space is limited. Contact Friends of the Smokies to register for the Little Cataloochee Trail hike: grtsmoky@bellsouth.net or 828-452-0720.

The Friends of the Smokies will host their next hike on Tuesday, Nov. 1, along the Road to Nowhere.

For more information about the hike, Friends of the Smokies and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, visit www.FriendoftheSmokies.org.  Specific information about helping to maintain and improve these special trails can be found at www.SmokiesTrailsForever.org.

# # #

Since 1993, Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, has raised more than $34 million to support educational programs, historic preservation projects, conservation of natural and cultural resources, and wildlife research and protection in the Smokies.

Hi! My name is Fiona, I am a four month old Shepherd mix. Castaway Critters took in my mom when she needed help most- she was pregnant. I was born at the shelter, all of my five brothers and sisters have been adopted. Only me and my mom Daisy are still waiting for our own forever family. I have a sweet, spicy and friendly disposition, walk nicely on a leash, am crate trained and I’m in the process of house training. I am good with other dogs and love people. I would need a home with a fenced yard for playing and running. I am completely vetted and ready to start my life with a family of my own, so come on and call Barbara at 706-745-0035. She can tell you all about me, she thinks I’m a real looker and a great girl who is ready to break out of here! Check out our website castaway-critters.org today!

Joan Letitia LaCock

by

William V. Reynolds

Some of us go through life feeling that we just don’t fit. In other words, the things we are

remembered for are not those things that we enjoyed the most. Joan Letitia LaCock found herself

typecast in Westerns while she hated horses and the clothing she had to wear.

Joan, the daughter of a West Virginia druggist, found her way to New York City in 1940. She

worked as a model and was cast by Al Jolson as a showgirl in his Broadway play “Hold onto Your

Hats.” When the show closed in 1941, Joan married a popular singer, Dick Haymes, and went to

Hollywood with him. While working in the theater, Joan was discovered by a Hollywood talent

scout. This led to her first movie role in Abbie’s Irish Rose (1946).

Two years later she took on the role of Tess Millay with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in

Howard Hawks production Red River (1948). She became well known as a result of her

appearance in this classic Western. The next year John Ford cast her with John Wayne in his

classic Western She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949).

As a result of being cast in these two very successful Westerns, the scripts Joan received were

predominantly Westerns and resulted, to her dismay, in her being typecast. In 1950 she was cast in

the Western called Wagon Master (1950). Some say that this film became the basis for Ward

Bond’s TV series Wagon Train. She would appear in the TV series in 1957.

Her career continued in the 1950s with Siege at Red River (1954) with Van Johnson and Richard

Boone. For much of that decade, Joan turned to television, guest starring in shows such as Schlitz

Playhouse where she appeared in two episodes. In 1958 Joan worked with Fess Parker and

Wendell Corey in a film called The Light in the Forest (1958).

Joan’s last Western film was the delightful, The Wild and the Innocent (1959) with Audie

Murphy, Sandra Dee, and Gilbert Roland. She played the saloon girl who took the innocent

Sandra Dee under her wing trying to turn her into a dance hall girl. Audie Murphy (Yancy Hawks)

strenuously objects and has to shoot Gilbert Roland, the Sheriff, in order to rescue Sandra Dee.

In the 1960s, Joan was cast in the role of the Eastern owner of a dude ranch in the television series

Guestward Ho! The show was far from successful and ended after one season. For her

contribution to the television industry, Joan was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She died in Los Angeles, California at age 74. Her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

Here’s a reel memories salute to Joan Letitia LaCock, a.k.a. Joanne Dru and a thank you for her

contribution to the Western genre.

William V. Reynolds is the author of “Murder in the Okefenokee” available at The Curiosity Shop

in Murphy, Shenanigan’s Diner and Pat’s Country Kitchen in McCaysville, Parris Pharmacy,

Ingles in Blue Ridge, and Book Nook in Blairsville

Henry D. Carey II

by William V. Reynolds

John Wayne said of Henry D. Carey II, “He was the greatest western actor of all time.” High praise when you consider the source. Born in New York City in 1878, this son of an attorney went on to become one of the most renowned actors of the western genre. He was educated at Hamilton Military Academy and offered an appointment to West Point upon graduation.  Henry decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, but he had been bitten by the acting bug.

While recovering from injuries sustained in a boating accident at age 21, he wrote a play, “Montana.” He decided to star in his own creation and toured for three years.  His second play based on the Klondike gold rush was not as successful. Henry was wiped out financially. He turned to the movies making his first credited feature Bill Sharkey’s Last Game (1909).

Later a friend introduced him to D. W. Griffith who cast him in The Musketeers of Pig Alley(1913) and other less memorable films. Henry went on to become a silent film star in the 1920s writing and acting with such memorable directors as John Ford. Along with Ford he developed a character called Cheyenne Harry that would appear in several two reel westerns. Their first collaboration was Straight Shooting (1917).

Henry’s cowboy persona has been linked to William S. Hart, the first Western superstar. Both actors emphasized realism in their films contrasted with Tom Mix’s flashy Horse Operas. He didn’t dress as loud as Ken Maynard or Tom Mix and his films were characterized by gestures such as the way he sat a horse and how he held his arms. John Wayne paid tribute to him in the closing scenes of The Searchers (1956) using one of his classic stances.

The Talkies came along in the late 1920s and Henry developed a voice to match his other traits. By now he was too old for many leading parts so he turned to character acting  such as the President of the Senate in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939). He did land one leading role in MGM’s Trader Horn (1931). But his leading roles in the 1930s were mostly in B-Westerns and “oater” serials.

The 1940s found Henry working with John Wayne in films such as Shepherd of the Hills (1941), The Spoilers(1942), and Angel and the Badman (1947). He made his only film with his son, Henry D. Carey Jr., in Red River (1948) –filmed in 1946–but they were not together in any scenes.

Here’s a reel memories salute to Henry D. Carey II, aka Harry Carey Sr., who passed away in1947 of coronary thrombosis, lung cancer and emphysema.

William V. Reynolds is the author of “Murder in the Okefenokee” available at The Curiosity Shop in Murphy, McCaysville Market Place Whistle Stop and Pat’s Country Kitchen in McCaysville; Parris Pharmacy, The Book Nook and Ingles in Blue Ridge; and Book Nook in Blairsville.

Jacques de Bujac

by

William V. Reynolds Sometimes a star starts to rise then begins to decline no matter what the person does. That seems to be the life story of Jacques de Bujac. Born in Carlsbad, New Mexico to French Army Col. Etienne de Bujac and his wife Julia Graves, who died shortly after giving birth, Jacques attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee but did not graduate. In the meantime he worked at a number of jobs including sailor, insurance salesman, oil worker, surveyor, prizefighter, car salesman, as well as a real estate and a slaughter house employee.

Jacques met David O. Selznick at a Hollywood party which led to a role in Heroes of the Flames (1931). He would appear in two more Selznick films in 1932, Lady with the Past (1932) and The Roadhouse Murder (1932). Jacques seemed to be on a parallel career with Marion Morrison (John Wayne) who was falling back into the B-movie category after making The Big Trail (1930). Jacques and John Wayne would eventually appear together and 11 films.

Jacques’ big break seemed to come when he costarred with Fay Wray in the sci-fi classic King Kong (1933). In spite of his promising performance in this film he never did make it to stardom. Rather he became a supporting actor in 1930s films such as Let ‘em Have It (1935) in which he played a gangster. In 1936 he supported Randolph Scott in The Last of the Mohicans (1936). That same year he supported Spencer Tracy in Fury (1936).

As a freelancer, he appeared in movies at many studios before leaving Hollywood for military service during World War II. He worked in Army intelligence overseas. After the war he continued to work steadily with and without his friend and frequent costar John Wayne. He met John Wayne on the set of Angel and the Badmen (1947) and they became fast friends.

Jacques became the first choice for supporting roles in John Wayne’s movies. They appeared together in such films as The Best of the Badmen (1951), The Comancheros (1961), Hatari! (1962), McLintock (1963), The War Wagon (1967), The Green Berets (1968), The Undefeated (1969), Chisum (1970), and Big Jake (1971). His last film appearance was in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

Besides the fact that he rescued Fay Wray from King Kong, Jacques is probably best remembered for the fact that he tried out for the role of The Ringo Kid in John Ford’s classic western, Stagecoach (1939). John Wayne got the role and the rest, as they say, is history.

Jacques passed away in 1972 in Woodlands, California from lung and throat cancer.

Here’s a reel memories salute to Jacques de Bujac, a.k.a. Bruce Cabot.

William V. Reynolds is the author of “Murder in the Okefenokee” available at The Curiosity Shop in Murphy, McCaysville Market Place Whistle Stop and Pat’s Country Kitchen in McCaysville; Parris Pharmacy, The Book Nook and Ingles in Blue Ridge; and Book Nook in Blairsville.