Posted on: August 1, 2009 by Whisper Mountain
This article appeared on southernliving.com
Meet Penny Hawkes, the lucky winner of our Choose Your Home Giveaway Sweepstakes.
Sara Essex, Article by Cathy Still Johnson // southernliving.com
Penny Hawkes received the best 50th birthday present ever. (Officially, it’s August 24th.) Winner of the MyHomeIdeas.com and Southern Living Choose Your Home Giveaway, this lucky entrant chose the Whisper Mountain’s Whisper Creek Cottage for herself, her husband, Ken, and their family to enjoy. Now residents of LaPlace, Louisiana, the Hawkes family has ties to the mountains and are finally getting a chance to come home. “I was born in Huntersville, and Ken and I met when we were both working in Charlotte. Their careers took them to California and then to Louisiana, but Penny says, “We always said we would retire to North Carolina.”
Big Win
Persistence paid off for Penny Hawkes. This devoted winner visited MyHomeIdeas.com and SouthernLiving.com every single day to enter the Choose Your Home Giveaway Sweepstakes. With more than 5,400,000 entries, her name was the first pulled from the hat. “The Whisper Creek Cottage was the only house I entered for,” Penny says. “I called my friend, Arlene, and told her to enter too. I said, ‘Someone’s got to win, and it should be us,’ never imagining that it would really be me. I’ve never won anything in my life.”
There’s No Place Like Home
Jean Allsopp, Article by Cathy Still Johnson // southernliving.com
The mountains have always held a special place in Penny’s heart. She’s from there, after all. Though she’s running LaPlace Optical, a thriving eye care business in LaPlace, Louisiana, she’s anxious to make an escape as soon as possible to meet her new home. Her parents, North Carolina residents, are equally excited that the Hawkeses’ dream of retiring to their home state will come to fruition. “When I found out I won, I called my mom and told her I was coming home,” Penny says.
Welcome Home
The mountaintop community of Whisper Mountain covers more than 270 acres in one of the most beautiful and culturally diverse areas of the South. Just 17 miles outside of Asheville, North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Mountains have long been a go-to for outdoors enthusiasts and those who just need a cool, breezy retreat.
On the property, Penny and her family will find creeks, meadows, trails, and panoramas of the mountains and valleys below. The center of the community, Sky Valley Lodge, will serve as an extended gathering spot for the Hawkes family with its spacious decks and cozy gathering area around a stacked stone fireplace. ” I hope to make it up in time to celebrate my birthday,” Penny says. “And after that, I plan to spend as much time there as I can.”
Oh, the Places She’ll Go!
Joe DeSciose, Article by Cathy Still Johnson // southernliving.com
With close proximity to Asheville, Penny and her family will have the best of both worlds: a private mountain getaway and a city center brimming with culinary delights and a thriving arts and music scene.
She’s likely to embrace local favorites such as Tupelo Honey Café, beloved for its shrimp and grits and pecan crusted chicken, Biltmore House and Biltmore Village, America’s largest home and adjacent shopping area, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, a LEED-certified building with interactive maps of the area’s sights and activities. “I’ve been to Asheville a couple of times, but I’ve never gotten to spend a lot of time there. It will be fun to get to know the city better,” Penny says.
A Great Getaway
Charmed by the house and its location, Penny says, “It looks like a little cabin in the woods.” She’ll find out soon that the house is just that―set over a creek with spectacular mountain views. Perfect for a family getaway or just relaxing on the porches, Penny and her family may find themselves relocating sooner rather than later.
Jean Allsopp, Article by Cathy Still Johnson // southernliving.com
Back to Her Roots
Designed in the mountain Arts-and-Crafts style, Penny’s new home is made of natural materials pulled from the site. Poplar bark dresses the facade, and the ceiling of the master bedroom. Locust tree columns support the front porch, rhododendron branches form porch railings, and salvaged barn roofing give that timeworn appeal that adds to the home’s indigenous look. And because it’s a North Carolina HealthyBuilt home, it’s just as environmentally friendly as it looks. “I love that they used recycled things and composite siding,” says Penny. “I didn’t want a house that would require a lot of upkeep.”
Family Gatherings
Jean Allsopp, Article by Cathy Still Johnson // southernliving.com
“My daughter, Hannah, was in Gatlinburg when I got the call that I had won,” Penny says. “Everyone there said they were already planning Thanksgiving at Whisper Creek.
“I’m so excited about the kitchen,” says Penny. Part of the modular home system delivered to the site, the kitchen features cabinetry that wraps around one side of the great room. A granite-topped island will suit casual meals for Penny’s family―or serve as the Thanksgiving buffet.
“I love the area, and I love my family. We usually make it to the mountains two or three times a year, but now, we can all spend more time together,” Penny says.
Just Relax
Inspired by the architecture of homes throughout the mountains of Western North Carolina, Whisper Creek Cottage blends well into the history of this region. With shakes and lap siding accented by a stone chimney and Craftsman details, the house is very much at home in the Whisper Mountain community. “I can’t wait to be able to sit in the chairs on the porch and relax,” Penny says.
Private Retreat
Impressed by the master bathroom, Penny is looking forward to checking out the walk-in shower. “It looks awesome!” says Penny. The tiled shower was delivered intact as part of the modular home system―and it has an eye-level window with a view.
»» Take a virtual tour of the bathroom on southernliving.com
Out and About
“I look forward to being able to get out and walk on the trails,” Penny says. “I can’t wait to watch my grandson running around out here. Whisper Mountain looks like a great place to just get away. My brother and sister-in-law live nearby, so they got a chance to see it. She said that it is to die for!”
Guest List
“More than likely, someone will always be there,” Penny says. Her parents have joked that they’re going to sell their house in nearby Huntersville and move in. Does she have a sign-up list yet for guests? “Not now,” says Penny, “but I am sure I will be getting a lot of calls after this is released.”
Whisper Creek House Plan
You can have your own version of our winning house by purchasing the plans for the 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home.
»» See the house plan on southernliving.com
Posted on: September 26, 2008 by Whisper Mountain
A clear, bright August day at Whisper Mountain played host to four members of the Marshall High School graduating class of 1945 who gathered here for their 63rd reunion. Accompanied by family and guests, the celebrants, including Fred Graham, Forrest Jarrett, Mary Sprinkle, and Harry Woodson, met at the Sky Valley Lodge. The festivities began at five in the afternoon with dinner on the east deck, overlooking the French Broad River Valley and the Black Mountains.
Some of the 25 graduates of the class of 1945 have been gathering consistently since their 44th reunion held in Mars Hill. Their 50th was held at the Deer Park Restaurant on the Biltmore Estate, and their 52nd through 62nd were held at Mr. Jarrett’s picnic area on his property in Leicester. The switch to Whisper Mountain, past the log cabins that form the Welcome Center and Poplar Ridge House, seemed to be a return to earlier times, to a time these octogenarians remember from their childhood here in the mountains.
Mr. Jarrett recalled walking with his father past several vacated log cabins off of Little Pine and listening to his father tell him, “You remember this… all of the empty log cabins we have passed… I won’t live to see it, but you will see people come back to the mountains.” Forrest was gone from the mountains about 40 years and now points to Whisper Mountain and says, “It’s true!”
Mrs. Sprinkle, who retired from teaching in 1992 reminisced about how things have changed in the mountains. She observed that all of the local towns had their own schools, and travel from one town to another was not easy over dirt roads. Children walked to school and everyone seemed to know everyone else. Forrest Jarrett noted changes as well, adding that during World War II, many families left the mountains to find work in Baltimore and Norfolk in the shipyards and airplane factories. Some returned, but many did not since industry in Asheville was limited. According to Jarrett, the auto industry of Detroit offered more possibilities for employment and many families never returned to the mountains after the war. Mary Sprinkle added that by 1974 many of the area high schools had merged because of a declining population, and observed “that the character of the mountains communities seemed to change without their own schools.”
What hasn’t changed is the resilience and strength of the people who have remained in Madison County. Mrs. Sprinkle quoted the inscription above the elevators of the Buncombe County Courthouse, “Men to Match our Mountains,” and observed that it was true even today.
Posted on: July 14, 2008 by Whisper Mountain
The Asheville area is an excellent place for continuing education on a wide variety of subjects. Asheville and its surrounding communities has been headquarters for some of the finest educational institutions in the United States. The University of North Carolina Asheville is nationally acclaimed for its liberal arts focus and has programs for adult learners. Warren Wilson College is widely renowned for its Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, which caters to adult learners by offering classes during summer and winter break for professors who are employed during fall and spring term.
These two institutions of higher education are leading the way in continuing education in the area, but they are by no means the only schools actively serving the continuing education population. Mars Hill College, AB Tech, and Penland School of Crafts also offer continuing education. Working professionals are in need of continuing education and many retired professionals need continued training to take part fully in the workplace and community service, or simply enhance their knowledge or skill in an area of interest. There are plenty of options for adult learners in the Asheville area to do just that.
University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA)
UNC-Asheville is one of the sixteen schools in University of North Carolina system and it is the only one dedicated solely to the liberal arts. UNCA began as an institution that prioritized the humanities and has flourished into one of the top liberal arts schools in the country. UNCA has also established a North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR) where adult learners can pay an annual membership fee of $40 and receive access to university resources such as the library, and classes. NCCCR members take classes in a variety of useful subjects that can enhance professional skills, nurture creative talents, and allow study in areas where more knowledge is desired such as: computer software, finance, art, and photography.
Mars Hill College
Mars Hill College is a Baptist institution of higher education located in the town of Mars Hill. Adult Access at Mars Hill College is a program that caters specifically to the needs of professional adults. Mars Hill College offers classes in the evening in the areas of business management, teacher and special education, social work and teaching English as a second language. Academically and intellectually gifted and reading classes area also available. Some classes are also available online, on the Moodle platform, and at satellite classrooms in Asheville, Burnsville, Hendersonville, Marion, and Waynesville.
Warren Wilson
Warren Wilson College inherited a distinguished program called the MFA for Writers from Goddard College, that is designed for the professional adult learner. This low residency program is taught during summer and winter academic breaks so that active professionals can take part. The highly distinguished faculty and students have made the program what it is today, one of the top MFA programs in the nation.
Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College (AB Tech)
AB Tech is located in Asheville and surrounding locations and works especially hard to meet the needs of working professionals seeking continuing education opportunities. Through its close association with the Small Business Incubator and Small Business Center, AB Tech offers a variety of choices of continuing education classes for the business professional. Many classes are taught at night or on Saturdays. Class topics range from “Marketing Your Business for Success” to “Accounting for Non-Accountants” and “How to Value a Business”. Most classes cost $75-175. The Small Business Incubator is one of the few programs like it in the country, and is housed at the AB Tech Enka/Candler campus, just west of Asheville.
Penland School of Crafts
One of the world’s most highly acclaimed school of crafts is located just outside Burnsville, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Penland School of Craft’s mission is “individual and artistic growth through craft”. It supports this with one to eight-week workshops in a variety of craft mediums, artist residencies, and a top-notch gallery that exhibits the best in student and faculty work, and other craft artists. A complete updated list of classes is available on their website.
