Kiwanis of the Pines

Barbara Harris-Para gave a program on Amelia Earhart and her visits to Pinehurst to the Kiwanis of the Pines.

Five members of the Sandhills Kiwanis attended the meeting as part of an inter-club visit.

Harris-Para spoke on various aspects of Earhart's life leading up to her involvement in flying, her accomplishments in flying and her ultimate demise.

She gave some old theories of Earhart's disappearance, newer thoughts, and finally the newest attempt to find her. The mystery is part of what keeps us interested in Earhart, who is "the most famous missing individual in the world."

Earhart visited Moore County, flying in and out of Knollwood Field with an Autogiro which belonged to Beechnut (not the baby food, nor the gum, but the snuff). She visited downtown Southern Pines and stayed on the corner of May Street and New York Avenue, where a church now stands. Before she managed to get her pilot's license, she was setting altitude records, and before her fateful flight, she was flying solo across the Atlantic, Pacific and from Mexico to New York City solo. Her accomplishments weren't just in airplanes. She wrote books, poems and designed women's clothes for the era.

Milton and Elaine Sills presented Harris-Para with a new research book, "Amelia Earhart: The Thrill of It," by Susan Wels.

Photo Club

The Sandhills Photography Club meets Monday, >April 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Christ Fellowship Church, Midland and Pee Dee roads, Southern Pines.

The Class A Still Life competition was postponed and will be held at the April 9 meeting.

Also, there will be a competition on night photography. This is a digital competition. Members can submit two entries taken within the past three years. The images in this competition should appear to have been taken outdoors at night.

This competition can include any subject. The focus should be on the skill and technique used to make the photograph.

Examples include: moon/stars, buildings/structures, animals, plants/flora, and people, but should NOT be of sunrises or sunsets. Refer to the "Guidelines for Digital Competitions," which can be found on the website www.sandhillsphotoclub.org. The judge will be George Butt, who has supervised the production and presentations of Kodak programs on a variety of photographic subjects throughout the world.

With more than 60 years of experience as an international photography judge, teacher, lecturer, professional photographer and cinematographer, Butt brings a wealth of practical experience to the club. His inspirational photographic presentations have been enjoyed throughout the United States and Canada (his native land).

He has been recognized by the Photographic Society of America with an associate and fellowship degree, and in 2000 he was also awarded the >photojournalism division award for >"International Understanding Through Photography."

For information, visit www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.

Women of Weymouth

The Women of Weymouth will hear Audrey Moriarty present a program on the outstanding women who influenced the growth of Pinehurst in its early days, including the wives of the original founders and many female sports enthusiasts who sponsored and participated in Pinehurst events.

Moriarty is the executive director of the Given Memorial Library and the Tufts Archives in Pinehurst, where she has worked since 2002. A graduate of Purdue University, she majored in secondary English and French, and has a master's degree in library/information science.

Upon first arriving in the Sandhills in 1979, she worked at Dance Inc. teaching ballet and preschool movement and tap dancing for 5-year-olds. She was a school media coordinator for the Moore County Schools for about 10 years before she came to the library and archives.

Moriarty is the author of "Pinehurst: Golf, History and the Good Life," a pictorial history of the village of Pinehurst, and has put together the "Village of Pinehurst," a historic walking tour.

She is active with the Pinehurst Business Guild, the Sunrise Theater, the Palustris Festival, the Sandhills Woman's Exchange, and the Professional Women's Network. Her husband, Jim, is a writer for Golf World magazine, and they have a daughter, Jennifer, son-in-law, and two granddaughters living in Rhode Island. Their son, Matt, a contributor to The Pilot, PineStraw and Pinehurst magazines, is currently in law school in Lawrence, Kan.

The program will be on April 16 starting with a coffee chat time at 9:30 a.m., followed by the meeting and program at 10 a.m.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to hear about famous and interesting women who influenced Pinehurst's growth," says Elizabeth Kimsey, president of the group. "Guests are welcome."

Computer Club

Of the Sandhills

The Computer Club of the Sandhills meets Monday, April 9, at 4 p.m. on the lower level of the Village Hall in Whispering Pines.

The speaker will be Jim Anderson, who is a former professor and coordinator of Web technologies and networking technology at Sandhills Community College. He has created and continues to maintain an Internet resources website that provides a variety of information.

In his presentation on April 9, he will explain many of the new features in Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, which will be released in the near future.

The computer club meets the second Monday of each month, except in August, at 4 p.m. Membership is open to computer users with all levels of expertise. Visitors are always welcome.

For more information, contact Gary Goss at (910) 215-9290.

Men's Fellowship

The Sandhills Men's Fellowship welcomes Ted Natt Jr. as the guest speaker at the Tuesday, April 10, breakfast meeting.

Natt is a fourth-generation journalist whose family owned the daily newspaper in Longview, Wash., from 1923 until 1999.

He started writing in high school and has rarely stopped. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and has an MBA from the University of Louisville.

Natt has worked for The Associated Press, at a metropolitan daily, a rural weekly, a monthly business newspaper and done journalism on the Web. He moved to Moore County nine years ago and built Sandhills Business Times from scratch. He published that 10-county regional business newspaper for six years.

Natt also tried banking for 17 months, but it wasn't a good fit. So when The Pilot needed a business writer to launch its business section in July 2010, he got back in the game. He has been fulltime with The Pilot since January 2011, and also covers health care and Southern Pines.

The event begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Magnolia Inn. A breakfast buffet will follow at 7:45 a.m. To assure seating, reservations are required. Call Tom Stewart at (910) 295-9775.

Sandhills CWC

All Sandhills women are invited to a luncheon on April 19 that will feature an accessories show from Talbots. A representative from the store will share how to make your old clothes look new again by fun and colorful accessorizing.

Music will be provided by Tracy Kerley, and Renita Reece, an inspirational speaker, will share her journey of her once out of control life, and her search for the missing piece to happiness.

The luncheon will be held at the National Golf Club from noon to 1:30 p.m., and the inclusive price is $13. A free nursery is provided for child care.

"Be sure to let us know if that service will be needed," says a spokesman.

Reservations should be in by April 9.

Call Anne at (910) 215-0074, Joan at (910) 673-5146 or Shirley at (910) 295-1577 for reservations or email sabaldwin@nc.rr.com.

Sandhills Rotary

The weekly meeting of the Sandhills Rotary Club on Wednesday, March 28, featured a talk by Barrett Walker, executive director of the Coalition for Human Care.

She spoke about the founding of the Coalition in the l980s and how it has expanded over the years since. Having started in a small building on West Pennsylvania Avenue, it has expanded into several locations to better serve the many needs of the community.

The Coalition now provides clothing, household goods, help with electricity bills, job counseling, transportation to medical appointments, and whatever other short-term assistance can help clients get back on their feet.

All this is done by the Coalition with just a few paid employees and many, many dedicated volunteers.

The Sandhills Rotary Club meets for breakfast at the Carolina Hotel every Wednesday morning at 7 a.m.

Whispers

Longtime Whispering Pines resident Denise Baker will be the speaker at the Wednesday, April 11, meeting of Whispers, at the Country Club of Whispering Pines.

Baker is professor of visual arts at Sandhills Community College, where she teaches studio art and art history.

Her talk, with visual accompaniment, will be about "Crossing the Atlantic" and how Southern Pines became a "sister city."

Tomato-basil soup and grilled cheese head up the menu. There will also be a plated salad and chocolate mousse for dessert. As usual, a beverage station will be available throughout the meeting.

Peg Carfi will be receiving the $15 check, made out to Whispers, which will be a reservation. All checks should be to Peg before Sunday, April 8. Meeting time is 11:30 a.m., with lunch served at noon.

For information, call Peg Carfi at (910) 949-3125.

Seven Lakes Kiwanis

Rebecca Lindstrom, executive director, gave a brief report to the Seven Lakes Kiwanis Club at Beacon Ridge Country Club on Tuesday, March 27.

"Delivering hot meals to the homebound is our main business," she said. "But supplying a friendly face on a daily basis to shut-ins is an equally rewarding mission."

In 1974 Ida Baker Scott started this fledgling organization with a decision to provide five of her friends with a daily hot, nourishing lunch-time meal. Since then, the services have grown to an average of 100 meals each weekday for those in need.

Meals On Wheels of the Sandhills is a United Way-supported charity serving the towns of Aberdeen, Pinebluff, Pinehurst and Southern Pines. It is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization dependent entirely on private monetary help to exist.

The meals are cooked in the kitchens of Penick Village in Southern Pines and are delivered by volunteers who supply their time, their automobiles and personal gas expenses. The meals have a cost of $2.75, and those who can afford it pay for them.

Approximately 50 percent of the lunches are paid for by the recipients.

Individuals who receive meals are referred through the Department of Aging and Social Services, FirstHealth Hospital, home health agencies, churches, and other responsible parties. There are no financial or age restrictions.

Seven Lakes Kiwanis Club meets Tuesdays at noon at the Seven Lakes Country Club.

Eureka ECA

Eight members of Eureka ECA met on Tuesday, March 20, at the Moore County Agricultural Center.

A program was presented by Danny Aldridge, who not only educated the group but also entertained them by "Playing the Bones." This was a skill learned from his father, which has been around for more than 3,000 years and remains a form of entertainment all over the world. The bones he plays are made of walnut, but originally were made of a section cut from the rib of an animal. Aldridge plays in rhythm to bluegrass music.

As a continuing part of the group's "Random Acts of Kindness" campaign, goodies were delivered to the Whispering Pines Fire Department this month, expressing ECA's gratitude for their service to the community.

Eureka ECA is beginning a project for "Promoting Healthy Kids in Our Schools." Members brought tissues, disinfecting sprays, hand sanitizers and paper towels to deliver to Farm Life School. This project will continue with delivery to different schools throughout the county.

A "Heritage Cookbook" was delivered to each member containing the recipes collected from the last meeting. Members will enjoy using the recipes as well as reading the stories with each one.

The next meeting of Eureka ECA will be held Tuesday, April 17, at 2 p.m. Anyone interested in joining is welcome to attend.

For more information, call (910) 947-3188.