Montreat Minute 04/05/24

April 5, 2024

Bears Are Up and About

Please be aware that the bears are awake. In fact, we are not sure they ever went to sleep since many were seen throughout the winter. They are hungry and their natural food sources like fruit and nuts are not available yet. This means they will be foraging for anything they can find, including your trash, birdseed, dog and cat food, refuse at the Convenience Center, food in cars—anything edible. Please take precautions, including:

  • Bringing in bird feeders at dusk, and even that is not a guarantee bears won’t get to them
  • Do not leave pets outdoors unattended
  • Do not place your trash out at curbside until Monday morning and make sure it is in bear proof containers
  • If you are leaving Montreat before trash pickup on Monday, either pack out your trash and take it with you or drop it off at the Convenience Center by the Town Hall
  • If using the Convenience Center:
    • Check carefully around you before getting out of your vehicle
    • Do NOT use the Convenience Center from dusk until daylight

Montreat Native Plant Sale and Arbor Day Celebration Coming May 4

Mark your calenders! The 2024 Native Plant Sale and Arbor Day observance is scheduled for Saturday, May 4, from 9am to 2pm at the Moore Center at Lake Susan. Plans are in the works for a day of shopping, learning, eating, visiting and enjoying the beauty that is afforded us in this special place. Additionally, the Landcare Committee and the Tree Board will have exhibits about their efforts to enhance the natural setting we enjoy.

Community volunteers are needed for 2 hours on Friday afternoon, May 3, at 4pm for set up and Saturday morning and afternoon on sale day to assist vendors and shoppers. For more information CLICK HERE. Contact Betty Douglas at [email protected] or 662-392-3050 with questions or to volunteer for a morning or afternoon shift. See you in May!

Town Council Meeting April 11, at 7:00pm

The Montreat Town Council will meet for its monthly meeting next Thursday, April 11th, at 7:00pm in the Town Hall. For a copy of the agenda, CLICK HERE. The meeting will be live streamed and recorded. For information about streaming the meeting, CLICK HERE. The Public Forum will begin at 6:30pm. Everyone is invited.

Come to the Daffodil Party April 12

Spring has arrived and it’s time for the annual Daffodil Party, a perfect time to reconnect after a long winter. The event, hosted and sponsored by Margo and Tyler Smith in concert with the Montreat Adult Summer Club, is next Friday, April 12th, from 2:00-4:00pm at 513 Greybeard Trail.

Bring friends and neighbors from Montreat and beyond. Bring a treat to share and join the community in a grand celebration of the season.

Did You Know?

  

Bannerman and the Stoney Creek Boys, from left to right: 

Doc Snodderly, Boyd Black, Leonard Hollifield,

Glenn Bannerman, George Banks

“Grab your partner and circle up!  Say Howdy to your partner; say Howdy to your neighbor. 

Now clasp hands and circle left!  Everyone join in.  Now circle right!”

Another Big Circle Mountain Dance in The Barn was underway.

Glenn Quince Bannerman (1927-2020)

Whether he was crafting his own graduate program at the Assembly Training School in Richmond, Virginia (which in 1959 became the Presbyterian School for Christian Education and in 1997 federated with Union Theological Seminary), educating decades of young church workers, creating opportunities for youth in Richmond, calling Big Circle Mountain dances, or building the Montreat Campground, Glenn Bannerman was a force of nature. He firmly believed that play and recreation were integral parts of worship. After working briefly in city recreation departments, he sought a graduate program that would prepare him to take his passion into the church. Not finding one, he approached the Training School and was able to create one. In 1958 he received a master’s degree in Christian Education and remained as a faculty member to develop the curriculum that he headed until he retired in 1989. In 1968 he compiled and edited Folk Dancing for Fun. The Presbyterian Heritage Center has a copy of this book and many others on folk dancing and recreation from his library.

In the summers, Glenn and his wife Evelyn came to Montreat. In 1968 Larry Wilson hired him as the Director of Club Programs. One of his first decisions was to move the club square dances out of the basement of the gym and into the old skating rink. He also began the Friday Night dances, open for all. In 1969 he organized a dance on the tennis courts for the World Mission Conference. Needing a band, he contacted a colleague in Asheville who referred him to Clyde Cable, a fiddle player for a brand new band. The band agreed to play and, needing a name for the introduction, they chose The Stoney Creek Boys. It was the first professional gig for the band that has been a mainstay for Montreat Big Circle Mountain dances since then. That same year the old skating rink was officially renamed The Barn and remains a lively place on Friday nights during the summer.

Glenn’s passion for incorporating play into worship has manifested itself in other ways in western North Carolina as well. In Montreat, he orchestrated the construction of the campground and, with Larry Wilson, reinstituted the annual July 4 parade. In 1969, at nearby Blue Ridge Assembly, he and Evelyn held a weekend intergenerational folk dance camp. This event has morphed into the Bannerman Folk Camp and continues to be strong. He allied with the Folk Heritage Committee in Asheville to begin another event that has continued annually, Shindig on the Green.

In 1989 Glenn retired from PSCE and moved to Montreat. He remained a vibrant presence in the community, still calling Big Circle Mountain dances with the Stoney Creek Boys through 2019. Rev. Dr. Brian K. Blount, President of Union Seminary at the time of Glenn’s death in 2020, quipped that “even as God has called Glenn to Heaven, I can’t help but believe that Glenn is calling Heaven to dance.”

Thanks to the Presbyterian Heritage Center, especially Nancy Midgette, for this glimpse from the past. Stop by the PHC for additional Montreat history and so much more. Have an idea for a future “Did You Know?”? Let Nancy know at [email protected].

Updates and Reminders

  • The Montreat Planning & Zoning Commission Sign Ordinance Sub Committee will meet on Thursday, April 11th, at 10:30am in the Town Hall Community Room. The meeting will be live streamed. CLICK HERE for the agenda and streaming instructions. The Public is invited.
  • Do you receive your own copy of the Montreat Minute or know someone who doesn’t? Sign up for the Sunshine List to receive the Montreat Minute and stay “in the know” about the Town’s happenings. CLICK HERE to sign up for the list!

Questions or Comments?

Do you have Town-related questions or comments to offer? If so, please send them to Angela Murphy at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Have a great weekend!