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Articles by Leah King
A Starry Season | Our State
For more than 50 years, a dazzling chandelier has hung in the dining room of the Executive Mansion in Raleigh. Only recently has its remarkable backstory been fully illuminated.
’Tis Always the Season
The foyer of Margo Scurry’s home in northeast Charlotte is a portal into a kid’s Christmas dream. Four-foot-tall nutcrackers stand at the entrance to the living room, just the right height to look a child straight in the eye. A glowing tree twinkles nearby. And the entire room, anchored by a two-story brick wall, is festooned with hundreds of Santas — caroling, golfing, riding scooters. She even has a huggable, life-size Santa.
North Carolina’s Firefighters Who Answer the Call | Our State
Editor’s Note: This story was published in 2024. Any statistics mentioned are accurate to the year the piece was originally in print. What does it mean to put your neighbor before yourself? Sometimes it looks like jumping into your personal vehicle, meeting a group of friends and neighbors at a fire station a few miles away, donning protective gear, boarding a 40,000-pound fire engine, and driving or riding headlong into an emergency.
Trail Days Festival begins Thursday
The annual NC Trail Days Festival begins this Thursday with events planned in Elkin, Jonesville and beyond. North Carolina Trail Days celebrates the many outdoor recreation opportunities found in small towns throughout the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills. kAmpE E96 ;F?4E:@? @7 E9C66 DE2E6 EC2:=D[ t=<:? :D 2 ECF6 EC2:=D E@H?] }r %C2:= s2JD 92D 8C@H? E@ 2 7@FC\52J 6G6?E[ 2=:8?:?8 H:E9 }2E:@?2= %C2:=D s2J @? E96 7:CDE $2EFC52J @7 yF?6 2?5 :?4=F5:?8 ?6:893@C:?8 y@?6DG:==6[ ;FDE 24C@DD E96 *25<:?
Budbreak wine and beer festival planned for May 4 Original
MOUNT AIRY — Main Street in Mount Airy will be flowing with local wines and craft beers on Saturday, May 4 during the annual Budbreak Wine & Craft Beer Festival which features small-batch beverages for a day of sipping, sampling and learning from producers. Wine and beer will be available from 15 different makers. Nine of the participants are located in Surry County. In addition to wine and beer, there will be food available for purchase and live music.
Joyce Farms’ Winner Winner Chicken | Our State
At least twice a day, Tim Brooks walks from his farmhouse, past his pond and garden, and across his gravel driveway to a 300-foot chicken house. Stella, his golden retriever, follows close behind. When he reaches his chickens, he makes sure that the automatic feeder came on as scheduled and that the birds have water. He checks the lights, then sits down at the end of a conveyor belt and flips a switch. The belt rolls, moving light brown eggs toward him. He intercepts them and places them in a tray.
New Yadkin Valley Winery Pours Local Wines, Global Flavors
ELKIN, N.C. – Step up to the bar at Christian Paul Vineyards and embark on an international excursion. The tasting menu at Elkin’s newest winery, which held its grand opening in early November, leads customers through Italy, France, Australia and California using grape varietals and winemaking techniques representative of each region. Owners Christian Ercolani and Andrew Weyl had two requirements when looking for a location: excellent soil and proximity to an interstate.
Discover the Black Artisans Who Shaped New Bern
SPONSORED BY On September 10, 1804, John C. Stanly completes a business transaction in New Bern. He buys Donum Montford, an enslaved man, from the Cogdell mother and daughter widows for $500. Tomorrow, he will sign a deed officially emancipating Montford — who is among the first of 40 people Stanly helps liberate over his lifetime. Stanly, the son of a wealthy white merchant and an enslaved woman, started his successful business as a barber following his own emancipation in 1795.
13 International Restaurants and Markets in Cary, NC
Right off U.S. Highway 64 in Cary, a world of flavors awaits. At numerous shopping centers, you can ditch the car and mosey about on foot, stopping for Sichuan-style spicy pork noodles for lunch and then Indian mithai for dessert, plus a swing by a Halal grocer for provisions to take home. From sweet to savory and Laotian to South American, here’s a list of delicious destinations for the next time you find yourself near the Triangle.
Our State’s 5 Most Popular Stories of 2023
STORY BY OUR STATE STAFF Our native flora, fauna, cultural traditions, and more make up a one-of-a-kind collection. CHECK IT OUT STORY BY ABIGAIL KELLER After nearly a century — or just a couple of years — these seafood restaurants have become coastal icons, the places we know, love, and return to again and again.
The World on a Plate in Cary, North Carolina | Our State
Murphy to Manteo: Finding new adventures, historic detours, and the soul of North Carolina on the state’s longest highway: U.S. Route 64. Look at a map of our state and you’ll see: U.S. Highway 64 is North Carolina’s lifeline, winding and wandering through communities that its mighty interstate cousins simply zip right past. Our longest highway, 64 cuts a path clear across the state, carrying travelers from the Tennessee state line 604 miles east to the Outer Banks.
Our State’s 13 Most Popular Recipes of 2023
RECIPE BY LYNN WELLS | PHOTO BY MATT HULSMAN This classic recipe takes fresh summer squash and a few simple ingredients and turns them into the ultimate comfort food. MAKE IT RECIPE BY LYNN WELLS | PHOTO BY MATT HULSMAN Take this dreamy pound cake to the next level with vanilla cream cheese frosting. MAKE IT RECIPE BY TODD DULANEY | PHOTO BY BILL LUSK STUDIO Whether for an after-work soiree, a pre-dinner mixer, or a formal holiday fete, the role of sausage balls is the same: provider of happiness.
Soaring Ahead at Kitty Hawk Kites
Giant triangular hang gliders lift riders over the dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Colorful, semicircular kites pull board riders across Pamlico Sound. Sophisticated stunt kites zigzag in the skies over the Wright Brothers National Memorial. More than 120 years after Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved the world’s first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, the spirit of flying is alive and well on the Outer Banks, thanks in large part to Kitty Hawk Kites.
Magnificent Mocktails: Resolution Punch
SPONSORED BY Yield: 30 servings. 1 (12-ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate (chilled) 36 ounces cold water 6 ounces elderflower syrup 1 (64-ounce) carton white grape juice (chilled) 2 (750-milliter) bottles nonalcoholic sparkling wine or cider (chilled) 1 orange, sliced (for garnish) 10-12 strawberries, halved (for garnish) Ice (for serving, optional) In a pitcher, combine orange juice concentrate with 36 ounces of water (about 3 cans filled), and stir until concentrate melts.
This Soup for the Soul is a Greek Christmas Staple
Maria Georgallis is in her happy place. It’s Christmas Eve, and she’s spent most of the day scurrying about the kitchen inside the Chapel Hill home of her son, George, and daughter-in-law, Angela — chopping, boiling, basting, and taste-testing for the holiday feast that will take place later tonight. A pot of chicken-and-rice soup with celery, leeks, and carrots simmers on the stove. The scent of freshly baked bread fills the air.
Family-Made Power of Southern Supreme Fruitcakes | Our State
Editor’s Note: This story was published in 2023. It all started with a question: “Would you like to try some fruitcake?” The answer was, overwhelmingly, no. But if Berta Lou Scott managed to get someone to sample her fruitcake, they almost always came back to buy one. So she kept asking the question. She asked in Raleigh and Charlotte, Fayetteville and Greensboro.
Explore 17 Yadkin Valley tasting rooms with Winter Passport
Cozy up with good company, tasty libations and warm hospitality in the heart of Yadkin Valley wine country this winter. The 2023-2024 Yadkin Valley Winter Wine & Beer Passport presents 17 tastings at wineries, breweries and a distillery in Dobson, Elkin and Mount Airy. This year’s lineup includes a newly opened brewery and winery. Midsummer Brewing opened a second location in Mount Airy this past spring, and Christian Paul Vineyards opened in Elkin in September.
Haze Gray Vineyards receives award from Dept. of Labor
U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su recognized Haze Gray Vineyards as one of the 859 recipients of the 2023 HIRE Vets Medallion Award during a virtual award ceremony presented by U.S. Department of Labor. Haze Gray Vineyards earned the platinum award after applying earlier this year.
The Power of Love in Denton
What kind of Father’s Day gift do you get for a 75-year-old who doesn’t fish, doesn’t hunt, doesn’t travel much, and plays very little golf? One year, my grandfather received four cases of Levi Garrett chewing tobacco from his four children. In an effort to avoid that redundancy, my family decided to gather together in my grandfather’s front yard and wash tractors. That would be his gift. These weren’t just any tractors. These were his restored antique Massey Fergusons.
The Molasses Makers of Davidson County
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in 2021. Smoke filters up through thinning leaves, circling above the hardwoods on Gilbert E. Futrell’s property in southern Davidson County. Futrell first saw this piece of land when he was 13 years old. It’s a beautiful tract off of Flat Swamp Road just west of Denton. On first sight, he envisioned buying it one day. And when Futrell sets his mind to something, he doesn’t give up.
A Pungo Homecoming
Love is the easiest thing in the world. When Mr. Harmon, whom I love, called me over from the early morning line at Cup A Joe on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, which I love, and told me that he had just come back from seeing a hundred thousand snow geese with Tom Earnhardt, I said, “I love snow geese.” Cup A Joe is just one of those places. It’s clean but never sparkles. A five-minute visit there is enough to steep one’s clothes with the smell of coffee for the rest of the day.
29 Incredible Breakfast Recipes For Christmas Morning
RECIPE BY LYNN WELLS | PHOTOGRAPH BY MATT HULSMAN Upgrade your brunch menu with this baked French toast recipe containing crunchy corn flakes and a blueberry topping. MAKE IT RECIPE BY WENDY PERRY | PHOTOGRAPH BY MATT HULSMAN With the help of a muffin tin, these cheese-stuffed biscuits couldn’t be easier. MAKE IT RECIPE BY DINNER ON THE GROUNDS | PHOTOGRAPH BY MATT HULSMAN These pancakes are sure to satisfy.
A Worldly Celebration at Pura Vida
Editor’s Note: This story was published in 2020. The teenage girl standing in the middle of Pura Vida Worldly Art in Charlotte has electric blue hair, which means that she fits right in.
A Vintage Recipe: Ambrosia
To appreciate the old-fashioned appeal of this fruit salad, recall that fresh citrus used to be a rare treat in North Carolina, available only once a year, when people would fetch crates of fruit from warmer climes during the winter. Remember how your grandparents reminisced about finding an orange in the toe of their stockings? It must have felt like pulling out a handful of sweet-smelling sunshine. So imagine the opulence of having a whole bowl of these bright, sweet fruits.
Burney’s Sweets & More in Elizabethtown
A fried croissant fresh from the kitchen at Burney’s Sweets & More practically glows under a halo of glaze — like a doughnut, but a little bit more everything. Crispier on the outside. Softer on the inside. And a more perfect vehicle for all kinds of fillings: cream cheese, chocolate, lemon, blueberry. Tom and Doris Burney stumbled across the idea in the mid-’90s, and the croissant transformed their struggling bakery in Lumberton into a sweet success story.
Day 23: Nary a Moist Footsie in Sight
Day 23 22.3 It is cold this morning, so I pull out my tiny stove and make my last packet of bulletproof coffee. I found the pouches under the bridge in Cabazon, and it’s been a real treat. Things only thru-hikers and hobos can say, amiright? For breakfast I decided to give a protein cookie one more try, after being wholly disheartened by the chocolate and peanut butter flavors. But today I am pleasantly surprised by Snicker doodle. It is a nice breakfast in tent city, the sky a wash of pale pinks.
Day 18: Hiker Hunger, a Trail Name, and Forest Giants
Day 18 15 miles My body now processes all food by rapid fire. The hiker hunger is setting in. I can eat protein bars, followed by keto coffee with powdered butter. Then gummy worms and yogurt raisins. Tortillas and peanut butter with brown-sugar oatmeal folded in. It goes on. I guess this is a part of this new me. This new person know as “Bloodline”. Today we are climbing in the San Bernardino Forest, and it is hard work. We walk and climb, walk and climb.
Day 14: A San Jacinto Wilderness PSA
Apr 20, 2019 : Leah King Pacific Crest Trail Day 14 14.6 Miles Today was my first day on the PCT. Yes, a technicality would suggest I started walking from Mexico to Canada two weeks ago. But today might have been my first real day on trail. An ass kicking, to say the least, today was some fucked up shit. I don’t normally write with curse words, but Mother Nature threw down the gauntlet. They seem fitting. How many miles did we hike? I’ll have to do the math.
No, Really. You Really Need the Clown Shoes.
Day 8 21.5 At 5am my first alarm sounds, and I snooze it, knowing I need to get up so I have enough time to tape my blisters and finish packing by 7. I’m snuggled in the comforter of a real bed, inside a tipi at Mountain Valley Retreat. It is difficult to exit the warmth, the night having been a particularly cold one. I get out of the blankets just long enough to fire up the propane heater, and the grab my cold clothes from the floor.
Windstorms, Europeans, and Pie
Day 3. 7 Miles. I wake to a pretty pink sunrise, ready to tackle the first 7 miles of the day that will carry me into Mount Laguna. A few hikers pass me as I’m packing up, including the friends from Munich I made on the first day. As I begin walking it gets hot quickly. After awhile I feel a little sick and shaky, so I stop in the shade of a desert bush and consume small amounts of both food and electrolytes, trying to figure out what my body is asking for. Maybe I’m just tired.
PS: I Already Smell Bad
Apr 8, 2019 : Leah King Pacific Crest Trail Day 2, 16 miles. Last night at Lake Morena I slept a thousand years, cuddled in my blue cocoon, in my Copper Spur Palance amongst the sea of Zpacks. I didn’t wake until the howling of coyotes, and the ruffling of turkey feathers. Enough noise that it seems certain that someone was eaten. I woke generally upbeat, albeit a touch sore.
A Long But Physically Challenging Picnic
Day 1, yesterday, 20 Miles. I woke at 4 this morning in my hotel bed, my first thoughts surreal. It’s here. The time is finally here. I AM STARTING THE PCT TODAY. I shower quickly, make a few cups of crappy, too-old coffee, and dress in my hiking uniform: sun shirt, black athletic shorts, buff, gaiters, toe socks, trail runners. Done. Last night I arrived to San Diego and spent the evening finalizing detail purchases and packing them into my 50L Osprey Aura, so loading the car is easy this morning.
Approaching the PCT: An Intolerance For Staleness
Apr 2, 2019 : Leah King Pacific Crest Trail After nearly 24-hours on Amtrak’s Empire Builder, the scenery finally becomes marginally more dramatic when approaching Williston, North Dakota. Just as brown as anywhere else in early spring, but with the occasional texture of high desert lumps and bumps emerging from tufty plain. The PCT count-down on my phone flashes “2 days, 22 hours, 27 seconds”, and I pause from another screening of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Osteoarthritis Drug Receives Fast Track Designation from FDA
Osteoarthritis Drug Receives Fast Track Designation from FDA 02/22/19 Leah King, Marilyn J. Larrimer n late November 2018, the FDA announced that it was granting Fast Track designation to an investigational drug for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). The drug, developed by Galapagos, is known by its identifier GLPG1972/S201086. This drug is one to watch, since it has a novel mechanism of action for this therapeutic category.
PCT Prep with ED, A Process of Recovery
“I just ate cake for breakfast” This is the text message one of my best friends had to wake up to on HER birthday, when SHE should having breakfast cake. “And now I’m trying not to panic.” These are the kind of thoughts I’m experiencing during recovery. “One good point for allowing yourself to eat the cake in the first place. But wait. It’s not about keeping track. ” Recovery Me says. So how about, “Cake is a food. You need to eat food.
Thru-Hiking and the Human Condition
When I started traveling it was a quest of new experiences, and to see through fresh eyes. To honor freedom, aspiration, emotion, growth, and mortality. To revel in beauty unbeknownst to my previous self and to propel forward in a sea of change. I’ve been paddling for a little more than 2 continuous years and I’m about to have what I know as the most recent version of my world drop out from beneath me. Again. Before I start the Pacific Crest Trail on March 23, I’ve got a lot of flexibility.
How Grand Staircase Made Me a Thru-Hiker
Growing up, I don’t think my family went camping one single time. I was raised in a more typically Midwestern way, with occasional weekend trips to the mall to buy Aeropostale hoodies. As I neared adulthood I’d go to an overly expensive liberal arts school, unaware that I’d be paying for that education for the rest of eternity. (Really cutting into the gear fund.) There, while I did have the best professors I could ask for, I mostly spent my first years learning how to unfeel my feelings.
From Driftless to Desert Dweller: How Grand Staircase Made Me a Thru-Hiker
I was raised in a more typically Midwestern way, with occasional weekend trips to the mall to buy Aeropostale hoodies. As I neared adulthood I’d go to an overly-expensive liberal arts school, unaware that I’d be paying for that education for the rest of eternity. (Really cutting into the gear fund.) There, while I did have the best professors I could ask for, I mostly spent my first years learning how to un-feel my feelings.
Sweet Potato Hash With Sausage & Eggs
Yield: 4 servings. ½ pound fresh ground pork sausage 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes 1 medium sweet onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped ½ teaspoon smoked paprika ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon salt 4 large eggs 2 green onions, sliced (for garnish) Preheat oven to 400°. Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat and add sausage. Break up sausage in pan and cook until thoroughly browned.
Ham Hocks & Collard Greens Recipe | Our State
Yield: 4-6 servings. 6 slices thick-cut bacon 4 bundles fresh collard greens (approximately 6 cups leaves) 1 small onion, chopped 4 cups chicken broth 4 cups water ¼ cup apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon salt 2-3 ham hocks 1 tablespoon brown sugar Cook bacon in skillet until crispy. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Save drippings. Remove stem from each collard leaf. This can be done by cutting the stem out or by tearing the leaves away from the stem.
The Town That Built Food Lion
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published in the September 2012 issue of Our State. Ralph Ketner passed away on May 29, 2016. It was 1957. Three Salisbury men wanted to start a new grocery chain, but they couldn’t scrape together enough money to open the first store. Ralph Ketner; his older brother, Brown; and their colleague Wilson Smith had soured quickly on their new positions with Winn-Dixie, which were part of a package deal when the corporation purchased a local chain.
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