Treska Lindsey's WWII journal published

From the Times-News:

For Europeans who opposed German Nazism, the years of World War II were fraught with danger, deprivation and displacement. Treska Lindsey, 90, not only survived those years but managed to record poignantly her family's experiences in an illustrated journal she kept by her side as they worked in occupied France after fleeing Belgium.

Illustrated with beautifully detailed sketches of her family at work in the countryside and the people of France they met, the journal traveled with her the long miles between her homeland and Flat Rock, where she and her husband came to settle.

When she was 87 years old, at her brother's urging, the journal was shown to a French publisher and printed. Now "The Brutish and Magical Years: 1940-1944" has been published in English, and her family and friends are inviting the public to a celebration of the book.

Born Therese Gevaert, she was the daughter of artist Edgar Gevaert and the granddaughter, on her mother's side, of sculptor George Minne. Hers, she said, was a family of artists. So it was only natural that, as a 16-year-old girl, uprooted from her affluent life in the Belgian countryside, she would turn to art to describe their new lives as refugees working as farm laborers and lumberjacks. . .

Want to go? 
What: Celebration of the English translation of The Brutish and Magical Years: 1940-1944 by Treska Lindsey
When: 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16
Where: Highland Lake Cove in Flat Rock
Extra: Lindsey will sign books and exhibit her artwork. Refreshments will be served. Copies of the book also are available at The Fountainhead Bookstore in Hendersonville and Malaprop’s in Asheville.

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Julien and Lori Smythe to restore Mountain Lodge

From the Hendersonville Lightning:

The new owners of historic Mountain Lodge plan to nurse the 1820s house back to life before using it as a summer residence and opening it up for a Historic Flat Rock fundraiser.

Historic Flat Rock Inc. bought the property in a sale approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Columbia, S.C., and immediately sought a buyer who had the ability and will to spend the money — close to $1 million — needed to stabilize and preserve it. Historic Flat Rock Inc. officials believe they hit a homerun with the buyers — Julien Smythe, whose Flat Rock roots date to the early 1900s, and his wife, Lori.

For Julien Smythe, spending summers in Flat Rock is a return to his boyhood visits to the Many Pines estate that connects his family to the North Carolina mountains. . .

One other connection made the buyers seem like destiny. Joe Oppermann, a historic preservation architect and member of Historic Flat Rock Inc., is married to Langdon Smythe Oppermann, Julien's first cousin. The couple owns Many Pines; Oppermann is guiding the renovation for the Smythes. . .

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Sigh. . .

. . . starting to feel like I live in the 'burbs. . .

America in Bloom: Area gets report card on beauty efforts

From the Hendersonville Lightning:

America in Bloom judges visited Hendersonville, Flat Rock, Laurel Park and Mills River last June. The judges evaluate the community based on its flower displays, landscaping, trees, environmental efforts, heritage preservation and overall impression, make recommendations and write nominations for national awards.

Presenting a report card  to local leaders on Friday morning, America in Bloom judge Jack Clasen said he and co-judge Linda Cromer were disappointed that the national AIB committee chose another city for the commercial streetscape award.

"I've been doing this for 13 years and I'm usually very level-headed. I'm very calm," he said. "I understand how difficult it is (to judge). But I was actually very upset that you did not win that special award for commercial streetscape for Main Street in Hendersonville. Linda and I both felt that the Main Street renovation is first class."

Clasen said he felt so strongly about the award that "a bit of a shakeup" resulted.

Clasen gave the report card at the City Operations Center in a session attended by the mayors of Hendersonville, Laurel Park and Flat Rock, Henderson County America in Bloom Committee members, the Tourism Development Authority and city and county officials. . .

A committee launched the local America In Bloom effort last spring with funding from the municipalities. The committee plans to invite AIB judges back for a second evaluation next summer after working on improvements. . .

The judges praised Flat Rock, Laurel Park and Hendersonville for their heritage preservation efforts and recommended house tours and walking tours to raise the profile of the historic assets. . .

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