Shopper Blog: Counselor ponders Southern ways, transformation in book

BEARDEN

Counselor ponders Southern ways, transformation in book

John Shearer, Shopper News

Nearly 30 years ago, Doug White of Knoxville moved to Abbeville, South Carolina, to study at nearby Erskine College.

But he ended up studying the Upstate town steeped in Southern traditions as much as he did his detailed seminary books and notes, due in part to all the town’s interesting personalities.

And the latter included perhaps the community’s most unusual personality, Margaret Bowie, from whom he rented a room in her family mansion.

A strong and independent woman whom some did not want to cross, she had an equally unusual dog, named Possum, that was known to bite people but could do no wrong in her eyes. She ended up having a spiritual transformation later in her life, and that forms part of the storyline of White’s recent book.

While it sounds like the makings of a Southern novel, it is actually a nonfiction work based simply on his experiences.

“(Abbeville) is a wonderful old place, and this is just a gift back to them,” he said of his book, “Kiss the Magnolia Tree,” which is available online and at Union Ave Books. “And I want to celebrate the women who really contribute to the community.”

While the events happened decades ago, the time seemed right recently to write the book, the Sequoyah Hills resident said. Possessing a good memory and having told some of the stories over the years, he was able to begin recounting the tales in detail, as if he had an old personal journal or diary on hand.

He started writing the book about four years ago, he said, and the pandemic became a good time to finish it.

When he had enrolled in his early 50s at Erskine seminary, a Reformed Presbyterian Church-affiliated college near the Georgia border, he was healing from the past but would end up experiencing a renewing future.

Before that, he had been a private counselor in Knoxville and had also done some counseling work with First Presbyterian Church and Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church. His first wife, Laura Kissiah White, had been an organist with Church Street United Methodist Church and Cedar Springs before dying in 1990 of ovarian cancer.

Looking to take a break during the grieving process, he finally made the decision to enroll in Erskine three years later. He ended up staying there for two decades and became a professor at the college.

“It was amazing the time warp and how different things were,” he said.

Much of the book revolves around the Southern culture and such proper older women as Ms. Margaret and Ms. Ella. Margaret feels a sense of spiritual warming after attending a Christmas Eve service at a Presbyterian church led by White, agreeing that the Holy Spirit had come over her. It is almost like she has a female Scrooge-like change, and she takes on a warmer manner the rest of her life.

With the help of White, she also is no longer afraid of staying at her big home by herself, saying she has angels protecting her.

“It is kind of a note to how anybody can have their life changed,’’ said White, who also wrote that he had experienced the presence of angels in his life.

His experience coming from the Appalachian community of Knoxville to the more proper Southern society of Abbeville is also transformative to White. He came up with the book title after realizing “kissing the magnolia tree’’ was slang for loving Abbeville and its Southern charm so much that one does want to kiss the trees that dot the yards of many of the old homes.

The short book about small-town life in a historic South Carolina town almost has a Hallmark movie quality to it. But for White, the romantic falling in love that is typical of those movies’ storylines came later, after he returned to Knoxville in 2013.

He had been doing volunteer support work with the historic Blount Mansion by the Henley Bridge with Nancy Dempster Kelly, who was also widowed, and they were married in 2015.

While his life has come full circle returning to Knoxville, one common theme he found in the seemingly different communities were the strong women. He said his mother, Mary Louise Rolen White, used to help take some of his less fortunate classmates at the old Anderson Elementary in South Knoxville to places like the dentist, while his aunt, Gladys Rolen, was active with a women’s business group.

“I grew up with very accomplished women and saw how men and women can make a difference in the community,” he said.

Others he offers recognition to in the book are his current wife and former wife, aunt Lillian White, mother-in-law Mattie Kissiah, Lori B. McElvy, Ann M. Warwick, Kane W. McAfee and Julia T. White.

HALLS

Professional photographer shares studio and business know-how

Ali James, Shopper News

Fountain City photographer Amanda Fothergill was in middle school when she spotted an Olympus film camera in her dad’s office.

“It was shining from heaven, and I begged and begged him to let me use it,” she said. “He finally gave in, and I photographed the kids playing on the church’s playground.”

At the time, Fothergill said, she was making and selling friendship bracelets at school; she used the money to develop the photos. “I bought really cheap picture frames from yard sales and wrapped the pictures and gave them to their parents,” she said. “I remember watching them unwrap the framed picture of their child, and I loved that feeling.”

Fothergill begged for a digital camera for Christmas, and by her freshman year she had progressed beyond the little $75 point-and-shoot camera.

Then in her senior year she was gifted her first Canon Rebel camera. “I started shooting all kinds of things: landscapes, flowers, bugs, animals and the kids I babysat,” she laughed.

By her senior year of college Fothergrill, who had studied accounting, had her heart set on pursuing a master’s degree. When she did not get accepted to her first graduate school choice, she took her entire life savings of $10,000 and invested in her own photography business.

“I had been side hustling; I must have had a thousand dollars just from picking up every penny I found on the ground,” she said. “I bought an iMac, a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lightroom (software), built a website and hired a designer to do my branding.” Then, Fothergill was accepted to the University of Tennessee’s graduate program — but she had spent all her tuition money.

“I dove in shooting as much as I could and marketing myself. I did anything and everything to shoot and make money,” said Fothergill, who saved up for a semester at a time. “My graduate program was $12,000. I had $100 left over.”

While working as a certified CPA, Fothergill continued to specialize in her first year of business in family portraits, senior and baby photos.

In 2011, she photographed her first wedding on her own and ran with weddings from there.

In February 2020, when a house came on the market with a little studio in the backyard on highly sought Gibbs Drive, Fothergill said she and her husband jumped on it.

“It is a cute cottage with white shiplap all over and cedar shakes on the outside. It is precious,” said Fothergill. She schedules only two to three portrait sessions a week and rents out her studio to other photographers and hair and makeup artists when needed.

Although Fothergill is officially a retired CPA, she has learned many business lessons along the way and saw a need to share with other budding professional photographers.

“I started my business in Nashville and had to apply for a new license when I moved to Knoxville,” she said. “I was working here for three years before I realized I needed to file franchise and excise tax. I jumped through a bajillion hurdles and wondered how many small businesses don’t know this? ...

“In Knoxville we have an amazing industry; we are less competitors and more cheerleaders,” she continued.

The first small-business workshop Fothergill hosted attracted 10 people around her dining room table. “I just spoke about forming a business, bookkeeping, taxes, and spent two whole days digging into the trenches.”

After that Fothergill called on other small business experts to share their knowledge and moved the workshop to bigger venues. “I always host it in January before people’s 1099s are due,” she said.

Amanda May Photos is still accepting bookings for weddings, and there is approximately a four-month waiting list for portrait sessions. “My sweet spot for weddings is about 25 a year. Last year I booked 39,” she said. “Next year I will cap it at 25.”

Fothergill wanted to emphasize that she could not do all of this without a team of assistants and editors. “They (other photographers) may think they have to do it all. That is not possible,” she said.

“All of the things people see me doing is usually with help from somebody else. One of the number one compliments I get was how fast I turn the photos around. That’s because I have all of these people working at the same time.”

FARRAGUT

'It's a shame': Lifeguard shortage limits use of Karns Community Pool

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

Karns Lions Club Community Pool is in dire need of lifeguards. What used to be a coveted job now seems abandoned across the nation.

“We’re struggling right now to find lifeguards. We had enough for the Memorial Day holiday, but not enough to open during the week. We need about 15 and have about five,” said Lion Josh Bolling.

“We have to have a minimum of five per shift.”

There is going to be an American Red Cross Life Guard training class at Gulp Park Pool (Cedar Bluff/Fox Lonas area) June 15-17. Contact Heather at gpsftball2@aol.com for more information. Once enrolled in the class, go to KarnsLionsClub.com/job-openings and submit an application.

According to Lion Cynthia Bridges, the lifeguard shortage hit the entire country with 30 percent of public pools either closing or restricting hours.

Not only are operating hours restricted at Karns, but pool parties are curtailed as well.

After-hours pool parties are an important revenue stream for the Lions Club.

“We are getting messages at least once day, if not more, about people wanting a pool party,” Bridges said. “It’s a shame to turn them down; we need that revenue. Plus, the pool parties are a staple of the community, the whole pool ... and the Lions All Inclusive Playground is a staple in the community.

“We spent nearly $180,000 totally refurbishing the pool last year. We faced serious supply chain issues, labor issues. Now that it’s done it’s a shame the community can’t enjoy it.

“The community chipped in to help cover the cost, businesses chipped in, we got a few grants and we had to take out a loan. We need those pool parties to help pay that down,” Bridges said.

Bolling chimed in to say the financial hits haven’t stopped coming. The air conditioner in the snack shack had to be replaced as did the deep freezer. In addition, the Lions Club was finally able to find chlorine so they purchased enough for the season.

“We have to have chlorine,” said Bolling. “We can’t use chemicals in a public pool. Only chlorine. We were afraid not to buy enough for the season once we found it.

“You know there have been Lions working at the pool until midnight for days getting the pool ready for the community,” said Bridges. “When not enough people came to the lifeguard meetings, our stomachs just fell. All that money and all that work and we may not open. That was heartbreaking. Luckily we found enough for the Memorial Day holiday, but I don’t know what we’re going to do after that.

“If you have a teenager 15 and above who would like the best job ever, just sign up for the class and fill out an online application on our website. If you’d like to donate, there’s a button for that too,” said Bridges.

Info: KarnsLionsClub.com.

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NORTH KNOXVILLE

Haslam Scholar Weste is ‘ready to rule the world’

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

Fulton High School graduate Jahneulie Weste has big dreams: to become the founder and CEO of an IT company specializing in individualized online education and application development services. She wants to help underrepresented minorities navigate their way through a STEM professional environment, and leave the world better than she found it.

Weste is one of 15 Haslam Scholars who will enter the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2022. She plans to major in computer science with a minor in engineering entrepreneurship.

As a first-generation college student and American, Weste confirms that her family is very proud of her. Her parents are from Antigua, and she has four older brothers. They have been her inspiration during all the months of lockdown and virtual learning.

A desire to help virtual learners 

“For most of junior year I was a remote student. You lose motivation, but that motivation from my family really kept me going. I want to succeed for my success but also theirs.”

Weste, who is Fulton’s Class of 2022 salutatorian and president of the school’s National Honor Society chapter, says, “I actually thrived in the virtual experience, but I know people who struggled; I want to help those that need the extra push to make it more interesting. I want to create a better option for students who can’t go to school, or who learn at home.”

Her interest in science came from Melody Hawkins, her physical science teacher at Vine Middle School.

“She is a Black woman, and she opened my eyes to the possibility of Black women in STEM. When I first had her class, I was really interested in chemistry; in high school I got into engineering and that tickled my fancy a bit more than chemistry.

“I was really into robots and that’s how I found my way into computer science.”

Weste also considered chemical, mechanical and biomedical engineering. Her first choice as a minor was computer engineering, but she switched to engineering entrepreneurship because of the variety of classes offered.

She was recently honored as Achiever of the Year in the Knox County Schools National Achievers Society, and one of her biggest passions is mentorship.

Credit to Urban League and 'Big Sister'

“I was a mentee in Big Brothers Big Sisters from third grade until I turned 18. Amy Kennedy is my lifelong sister, not just my mentor. My goal is to mentor people just like she mentored me.”

Founded in 2008, the Haslam Scholars Program was created with a gift from Jimmy and Dee Haslam and Jim and Natalie Haslam to develop community-minded and intellectually gifted young leaders who will contribute to the state of Tennessee and beyond.

Weste credits the Knoxville Area Urban League — with whom she’s been involved since her sophomore year, most recently as a youth ambassador on the National Urban League Youth Council — with helping her to develop qualities befitting a Haslam Scholar.

“My involvement really ramped up the summer going into senior year. That organization helped me become a leader. I was very shy and timid, and now I’m confident, ready to rule the world!”

FARRAGUT

Cokesbury's Fig Tree offers a community to homeless

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

“These are our neighbors,” said Katie McIlwain, director of outreach ministries for Cokesbury United Methodist Church.

"We realized that we had some vulnerable neighbors who were just going through a hard time in the echo chamber of their car in despair and loneliness. That is our space as a church.

"We can’t wave a magic wand, but we can make sure our neighbors don’t walk through the hardest season of their life alone."

McIlwain is speaking about Fig Tree, a homeless community outreach program sponsored by the church in the old Lowe’s building at 9919 Kingston Pike.

She and her team strive to make sure each client is seen and known.

“You know, people don’t look homeless people in the eyes. They certainly don’t strive to know their names. Some of these people have been rejected by their families and they are alone. Here we strive to bridge that gap.”

Fig Tree isn’t just about community, it’s about a helping hand. Clients are not merely passed to case workers downtown. Last January the church hired a full-time housing case manager and a part-time community initiative coordinator with the help of a $120,000 grant from Trinity Health Foundation.

“These two positions have been a game changer for us. We have partnerships with some great case managers, but sometimes folks can’t follow up, they fall through the cracks. We wanted someone full time who could offer more support,” said McIlwain.

Staffers and volunteers are trained to handle trauma at Harmony Family Center with local trauma experts, she said.

“We have quite a number of complex behaviors to deal with. Harmony Family Center also provides a therapist once a week for a support group.”

Fig Tree offers homeless clients a place to shower, do laundry, use a computer, and a phone. There is food to enjoy together or take away … and plenty of coffee and community.

Since opening in July of 2020, Fig Tree has grown to see as many as 40 homeless clients in a day, serving 300 to 400 a month with about 100 of those being first-time visitors.

“I think we’re seeing an increase because there’s been a perfect storm," McIlwain said. "There’s an affordable-housing issue, the city’s policy on camps, and the pandemic. People are moving away from the Mission District and living in this area in tents and their cars because it’s a safer area. There are people who have jobs and still live in their cars.”

McIlwain said the future is bright for Fig Tree. The church plans on deepening relationships with resources that can eventually house their clients.

Such is the case with Cherokee Health Systems, which brings a bus to the facility to offer medical and mental health care.

McIlwain is planning an outing for the clients, staff and volunteers to spend the day at Montvale Camp to rest and relax.

“It’s just a day to get away from it all for a day and do a little something different and deepen our sense of community.”

Info: www.cokesbury.tv/figtree.

SOUTH KNOXVILLE

Artist A.E. Rochelle has no shortage of ideas

Ali James, Shopper News

“I don’t have a problem with ideas, I have an art to-do-list that is 10 years long,” said Annie Rochelle, a South Knoxville-based artist. “I am constantly working. I haven’t found an art medium I don’t like. I am always playing catch-up with my ideas.”

Rochelle grew up in Knoxville and attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, majoring in painting and minoring in art history, and studied art history in Italy. An art teacher by day, Rochelle also juggles her fine art commissions while creating art to sell in her Etsy Shop, www.etsy.com/shop/aerochelle.

“I have pieces in Gallery 1010 and the Maker Exchange that were recently installed and in other galleries around the country,” said Rochelle, who signs her work A.E. Rochelle. “I am still getting established as a fine artist.”

After graduating college, Rochelle worked as an exhibition technician and as a gallery attendant at Knoxville Museum of Art. “I watched people watch art as I like to call it,” she said. “It was a great way to observe how people look at art and what makes a successful piece of art.”

Rochelle spent a lot of time drawing in between guests. “I couldn’t work on larger pieces. I had to work on smaller pieces that I could fit into my pocket and carry around. Figure studies and illustrations became something to keep me occupied.

“I can paint realistically, but it’s not what I like to look at,” said Rochelle. “I have always had a type of irreverence in my art. I like to take that juxtaposition of Art with a capital A with a modern sensibility.”

Rochelle talked about her “Chance Configurations,” created with acrylic, gouache and pencil on linen.

“I mixed high art with playful colors in a composition that utilizes chance instead of thinking about it,” said Rochelle. “The choices (of color and pattern) are decided by the roll of the dice.”

Much of Rochelle’s art is inspired by nature. “I always thought if I wasn’t an artist I would be a scientist. I love learning about the natural world,” she said. “I have worked a lot of jobs, including Stanley’s Greenhouse and as a floral assistant. I do a lot of botanical illustration and find those forms in nature to be really interesting and am still investigating that interplay.”

Rochelle had been preparing to create her own coloring book for years. “I collected the line drawings for illustrations before I colored them with watercolors. I would scan the line drawings from the aspect that I might do this in a future,” she said. “The coloring pages (available for sale in her Etsy shop) culminated with the pandemic. I love making art that people can spend time with. I would like to do more coloring sheets.”

Recently Rochelle created a Dolly Parton piece for Dollyfest: “Dolly after Botticelli.”

“The line art was incredibly complex, the interactions between Botticelli and the modern icon of Dolly, who has become a patron saint, almost a protector,” she said. “I mixed it with the ecology of the area and Dolly from the ’60s, ’80s and 2000s.”

Rochelle sells prints, stickers and is investigating letterpress printing on seed paper.

“I love the idea of my art coming full circle to make new art, this idea of having a life beyond an art form,” she said. “I can’t stand throwing stuff away. I have kept all of the watercolor scraps from my archival prints and use dyes from soaking black beans or cooking beets and infusing this paper with seeds to make new paper.”

OPINION

Caregivers don't get sick time

Leslie Snow, Shopper News

I read the text from my sister and feel a wave of guilt wash over me. “Can you send me the dates for your vacation?” her text says. “I want to put it on my calendar so I can be there to help with Mom and Dad.”

I reach for the small calendar I carry in my purse to double-check the dates. My chest tightens as I count the number of days I’ll be gone. Fourteen. “I can’t believe I’ll be gone two full weeks,” I say aloud though there’s no one around to hear me. “What was I thinking?”

But then I remember. We booked this trip at the end of 2019, before COVID, before so many things in my life changed.

I pick up my phone to text my sister, Robin, the dates for our upcoming trip. I imagine her looking at my message and gasping at how long I’ll be gone. How long she’ll have to fill in for me. The guilt builds. Without logic or reason, I feel the need to explain all the things I’m sure my sister already understands.

I send another text. “It’s hard to believe nearly three years have passed since we booked this vacation. Mom and Dad were still living in Cleveland back then and no one had heard of the Coronavirus.”

She doesn’t respond right away but I tell myself it doesn’t mean anything. “She can’t be frustrated with me. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

I say those words to myself, but I must not believe them. Because when my husband gets home, I say them again. “I hope Robin doesn’t mind coming in while we’re on vacation. It feels like a lot to ask someone, but she’s just doing the same things I do all the time. And when we booked this trip, we couldn’t have known what would happen. No one could have known.”

He listens to my rambling explanation then shakes his head. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Honey. The vacation was canceled once because of COVID and once because your mom had surgery. You need a break and there’s nothing wrong with taking one.”

I hear his words and I know they’re true, but they don’t do enough to calm the voice in my head. The one that says, “Your parents need you. You’re burdening your sister. You’re asking too much.”

I think back to that 2019 version of myself, the one that could so blithely book a two-week vacation. I long for the innocence of that “before” time. Before my dad’s dementia got so bad, before COVID, before my sister passed away, before my mom’s cancer came back for an encore appearance.

I offer up a rueful smile and say what I’m supposed to say. “It will all be fine. No one blames me for taking vacation — even one that lasts for 14 days. It’s OK to lean on my sisters for help. It’s OK to go.”

That ends the conversation, but it doesn’t stop my guilt.

That’s the thing about being a caregiver, it’s a full-time job without a great benefits package. There aren’t personal days or paid sick leave. I can’t accrue vacation time or ask a co-worker to fill in. I can only explain to the people in my life that, for so many reasons, I need a good long vacation and their help in getting me there.

Hopefully they won’t mind. Hopefully they’ll understand that three years ago I didn’t know all the things I didn’t know.

Leslie Snow may be reached at snow column@aol.com.

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