Tuesday, May 12, 2009

" Honoring Louise Howe Bailey"

I'm back from Flat Rock, NC where I spent 4 exciting days!
Getting there turned out to be....a nerve racking experience!!!
There where three different ways to go from here. Two involved
Interstates. I chose to go through Atlanta because it was 50 miles
closer. BAD MISTAKE !!!



This is me & Pearlie May (my car) stuck in Hotlanta traffic! See the bridge below the one with the truck? That's where I'm trying to get to! It took 2 hours to get through Atlanta and that was going the Bypass!! I did not come back that way!







This is twelve lanes from two different interstates trying
to converge down to six on another interstate!






I arrived on Thursday afternoon around 6:00 P.M. EST.
Took half a bottle of nerve pills( just kidding) and went to bed!
On Friday morning Author Sherry Austin joined me for breakfast
at The Flat Rock Inn where I stayed. She then took me on a tour
of Flat Rock and Hendersonville, a post for later,we then met her
husband Rick for lunch and then I returned to the Inn to get ready for
the reception for Ms. Louise Howe Bailey that evening.





When I came downstairs my wonderful hostess Sandi informed me,
that Connie from "A Positive Reflection" blog whom I follow and she
follows me, was on her way over to the Inn. Connie has an art Gallery
called Conn-Artist in Hendersonville. Her art work is displayed throughout
the Inn. She was so surprised to meet me when she arrived!! It's great to
"run into" your blogger buddies!





Louise Howe Bailey is a life long resident of Henderson County.
She "IS" the Historian of this wonderful historical place. She has
written a weekly column for the local newspaper for 42 years.
She is also the author of numerous books on the history of this area.
Ms. Louise is 94 and her 96 year old sister Jenny whom she often
writes about, came 450 miles to attend this reception honoring Ms. Louise.

The reception was held at a gorgeous old home called The Cedars. I got
to meet my heroes Gary Carden and Vicki Lane there for the first time!



Here is the wonderful author Robert Morgan, a native of
Henderson County giving us a list of Louise Howe Bailey's
contributions to her beloved area.





A story from Louise Bailey's book " Draw Up A Chair"
was preformed in skit by three wonderful actors.





Granpa tells us tales................






Lyda the mountain woman, tells of back breaking work!










She worked like a man, best hand her Pa ever had.........







Granpa whittles...................






Louise Howe Bailey was honored with a plack...






A book.........................







And a bouquet of long stem Red Roses................






The crowd gave her a standing ovation...............
Among those applauding her.....
Robert Morgan.............and
Gary Carden against the wall....








A similar shot.......................







What an honor for me to meet this wonderful lady....








Look at her million dollar smile.....................









Here we discuss my staying at Flat Rock Inn which is
featured in one of her books as it is a very historical
place that once was part of the Carl Sandburg estate.






On Saturday at The Blue Ridge Bookfest, she signed my
copy of her book " From Rock Hill To Connemara ", a history
of the Carl Sanburg estate.




I had a WONDERFUL time and will post all about it
in the coming days!



20 comments:

Vicki Lane said...

That Miz Bailey is something else -- what a list of accomplishments!

Cheryl Cato said...

What a great trip for you and such a lovely part of the country to visit!

Elenka said...

You know, you really lead a great life. You sure get around ! Thanks so much for sharing it all with us.

Kat Mortensen said...

It's so amazing that you are there to support these literary exhibitions and honour those you so admire. You must put smiles on the faces of everyone you encounter! I'm sure Ms. Howe Bailey was delighted to make your acquaintance.
Glad you got out of that nasty traffic and you're home safe.

Kat

Rosaria Williams said...

Lovely trip, though a bit sidetracked at the onset. This is a mother lode of information for us. Thank you.

Clarify for me the Carl Sandburg connection to Flat Rock, N.C.?

p.s. I love your Hotlanta!

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Carol,

Oh, my, I know about all the traffic in Hotlanta! Got stuck in there once, as well, and still remember it!

Another fantastic trip, hob-nobbing with famous authors in beautiful places! Louise Howe Bailey is lovely, and what an honor it must have been for you to meet her! I am getting more and more envious of you, Carol! But I love reading all about these great literary trips, and look forward to more.

Have a wonderful day!

Huggies,

Renie

Dirt Princess said...

What a great trip!!! Whew...Hotlanta! A few years back when I was there, there was a sign telling you what the current population was. Three days late when I left it was up 2 million!!! LOL! We figured it MUST be all the people stuck in traffic and delayed at the airport!

Tess Kincaid said...

Your car's name is Pearlie May?! Now that is just too cute! Thanks for the giggles. I just got back, too, and am flopping around doing laundry and trying to catch up in Bloggyville.

Missy B. said...

Wow, sounds like you had a great time! I am sorry I missed it!

Elizabeth Bradley said...

Despite the nightmare traffic, (Thank goodness for those nerve pills), sounds like you had a terrific time. Thanks for introducing Miz Bailey, the term HOTLANTA, hee, hee, and the fact that you named your car Pearlie May!

(I was stuck in traffic on Mother's Day, trying to get to the O.C. and I didn't have any nerve pills!)

Reader Wil said...

Well I am so glad that you had the great time, which you had been looking forward to! How interesting to meet all those famous authors! Thanks for sharing!

NCmountainwoman said...

I know I'm going to enjoy more posts about this book festival. Great story about Ms. Bailey. I do hope I'll be in town for the festival next year.

crochet lady said...

Glad you had a great time, minus the traffic. Ms. Bailey seems like a real treasure.

Saw off to the right, on your blog that you met Kathryn Sockett. I really enjoyed reading The Help. Does she have plans to write other novels, as I think The Help was her first?

skywind said...

Oh, very interesting meeting.
Health information & Humor & Fun World

Jeannette StG said...

I'm glad you survived that trip through Atlanta, LOL but it was worth meeting all those lovely people!

Cynthia Pittmann said...

What an adventure! We have horrible traffic jams in Puerto Rico, they're called "Tapones" which means a stuck place. So glad you were able to leave a comment at Oasis Writing Link blog. I took off some little used features to make the code easier to read! Thank you for telling me about the problem.

I also love to meet people who have lived long productive lives. You must get a lot of inspiration from your contacts...and the strong feeling to write your own book!

Love to you, Carol.

I_am_Tulsa said...

What a wonderful event! I am so glad that I have found your blog...so much to learn!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

You should have swung by for a visit Carol!

What awonderful post and it seem like you had an amazing trip.

I can't stand going through Atlanta.

Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Muses said...

What an amazing trip you had!!!! And you've made me feel as though I was right there.

Atlanta expressways. One of the reasons we moved to Boone.

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