The historic church at Tanglewood.

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Tanglewood
By Linda H. Barnette
Once again, my volunteer work at the library yielded some more family connections. I’ve always loved Tanglewood and was interested in the articles in the Johnson family files since some of the people mentioned are in my family tree and that of my late cousin, Natalie Cash, whose mother was a Giffith from the Yadkin Valley Road area.
William Johnson, a settler from Wales, purchased 640 acres, or one square mile, of land that is now part of Tanglewood Park just across the river in what is now Forsyth County but was then Rowan, as was Davie until 1836. Johnson purchased this property in 1757 from William Linville, Lord Granville’s real estate agent in the Carolinas. In 1859 James Johnson had the 18-room manor house built as a wedding gift to his daughter Emily. The property stayed in the Johnson family until 1921 when William N. Reynolds bought it from Thomas Griffith, who was a direct descendent of the original owner. Mr. Griffith’s wife, Margaret, is supposedly the one who named the property Tanglewood.
In 1935 some of the Johnson descendants discovered William Johnson’s soapstone marker in the cemetery beside the old church called Mount Pleasant, built in 1809 for family worship. At least 4 generations of Johnson’s are buried there as are Emily Camilla Johnson, wife of Zadock, also buried there.
Down the river from Tanglewood was the Peter Clemmons bridge, the first bridge to be built across the Yadkin River at that time, connecting the main road with Clemmons. That family is in my family tree as well.
After the Reynolds family bought the property, they renovated the original manor house and lived in it for many years. He loved horse racing and built a large racetrack there. Think Steeplechase.
When they died without children, they left the property to Forsyth County, and now it is a very popular public park.
Below is a short poem written by Kate Reynolds about Tanglewood.
The seat of creeks and mighty trees,
Of fertile soil and balmy breeze
T’would fill a page had I a book
To tell the joys of Tanglewood.

Garden Party
By Ellen Bishop
Not a good time to give up gardening because getting on that hill and working in the dirt was such a good stress reliever. Instead, I will resort to putting on my t-shirt that says “I Garden so I don’t Choke People – Save a Life – Send Mulch” and go visit those farms where hard working, dedicated people are living out their dreams growing things of beauty and offering the public a chance to support local agriculture. My daughter and grandson humored me by joining in this year’s Farm Tours of Davidson County. Our first stop was the Blu’s Farm, located in the small community of Tyro, just outside of Lexington.
The green-thumbed mother daughter duo are not in it for the money and definitely not afraid of getting their hands dirty. As they weed, weed and weed more, water in the hot summer months, spread mulch, prune and constantly show their dedication, they know it is good for their mind, body and soul as they see all of the magic and beauty they will have created by doing so. Lindsey, busy mother of four, helps her mom, Sheila; both have graciously consented to give me a few moments of their time.
As Lindsey gives us a warm welcome, she begins by stating “Mom, Sheila Carlile, has been gardening here for approximately 40 years and she fell in love with daylilies because they are very easy to work with, very resilient to a lot of pests, very drought resistant so when your other plants are getting crunchy and dry looking in the summer, these will do very well. They are good for people without a green thumb. Of course, she loves to grow anything that will grow here, that has always been her passion, and things that are different, things that you won’t find at other stores, especially in a big box store, things like that.”
“I started gardening with her when I was very little so I have always gardened with her, you know, even from when I started walking up until now. She decided in 2016 to open to the public to kind of offset some of the costs of gardening, the mulch, etc. But this is the nice end (opening to the public); we like to share all of the things that bring us joy with everyone else, which has been very rewarding.”
Then Sheila joins us. “I moved here in 1981. I knew nobody. I came here from Lynchburg, Virginia. The only thing that was here was that triangle in the sidewalk up there and I didn’t like how that was done so I decided I was going to start gardening. I fixed that and from there, I just kept adding and adding because gardening kind of became a part of me and from thereon, this has all happened and every year I continued adding. I tell Lindsey, don’t let me add anything else. But, every year, I continue to add.”
Lindsey says: “I call it her vision. She says I’ve had another vision and then we have to build it and Mom says ‘I love it, I love it.’” Even though Sheila’s husband might want to take a vacation, she states there is no where she had rather be than sitting on her porch looking at the beauty of nature.
Blu’s Farm is a family operated Flower Farm dedicated to offering some of the most beautiful and healthy plants in the area. These include daylilies (over 600 varieties), irises, hostas, dahlias, water plants and perennials. Peak bloom season will be just in time for their Blu’s Farm Garden Party which will include live music, food trucks, Foothills brewing, handmade craft vendors – June 14, 2025 11-4 at 5574 South NC Hwy 150, Lexington.
Stressed or not, have some fun by joining in the Garden Party; no mulch necessary.

Weeds in the Sidewalk
By Felicia Browell
Maybe you have a paved driveway, or a concrete walkway to your front door. Maybe you walk along the nice sidewalks on Main Street to enjoy some coffee at the coffee shop, or you saunter boldly across the street to the ice cream shop. (I’m a fan of both!) Are there weeds in the cracks in the sidewalk at home, or in town? If the weeds grow bigger and are not removed, which wins? Does the sidewalk hold and contain the weed, or the does the weed break the sidewalk?
The weed will win every time, unless it’s removed, roots and all.
We are like the sidewalks too. Our hearts, our minds – if a weed sprouts in our soul and we don’t remove it quickly enough, it can take root, and damage parts of us. Our weeds are called by names other than dandelion, or clover, or plantain. Our weeds are doubt, guilt, shame, pride, arrogance, fear, anxiety, depression, anger, hate, and more. Those negative thoughts and emotions eat away at the stability of your mind and heart and soul.
You need to root them out! Replace them one by one with positive thoughts – where there’s fear, dig it out, drop it on the sidewalk and crush it. Fear is a healthy emotion when there’s a bear lumbering toward you in your backyard – but in today’s world, we fear so many things that are not worthy of fear. Anxiety, too – being anxious means you don’t trust that you are where you need to be in your life – learning means moving on and changing little by little to get where you need to go. Hate is particularly damaging – like a bull thistle. The root can be hard and deep, and it’s covered with spines – it does serious harm to you just by its presence.
I know this is a lot of generalized statements – I guess I spent too much time this week reading news articles on who did what in Washington, D.C., or California, or Ukraine. Measles, the next Covid, the next recall or environmental toxin. or hurricane or sunspot. How many times have we heard that the end of the world is upon us? Remember Y2K? September 11 was a real train wreck for the country.
Some people let the fear win, let the anxiety and depression win. I almost did. Not long after 9/11, I went through a truly “down” period when I struggled to sleep, to push myself through a day at work, to find any joy in my family. But one day I said to myself “I’m tired of feeling tired and sad.” So I decided to find one good thing for every bad thing I saw. Sunrises became beautiful again. My daughters’ smiles made me light up too. A good meal, or a piece of fine dark chocolate gave me a little spark of joy. I started responding to the common query “How are you today?” with “Better every day.”
It became true. What I said to myself at that time, and since, became what I believed.
No, I didn’t become delusional – I’m not Queen of All I Survey, for example! But every day I told myself that today was going to be a great day. That I’d find something useful and productive to do. That doing the best job I could do at every opportunity was the right thing to do; washing dishes, writing a job aid, editing someone’s document at work, petting the rescue cats until they rolled over in purring bliss – all of those small things were reasons to rejoice just a little bit.
And it worked. I now find joy in many small things in my life that it puts all the bad things – the weeds – into perspective. I can pull my mental weeds and toss them into the bin called “learning moments” and move on without my mental and emotional sidewalk cracking.
Pluck out the weeds in your life one by one – apologize for the hurts you did others. Let go of the guilt for past errors, let go of the bitterness of past wrongs. Celebrate and remember the joys that came before the losses, before the grief. There are miracles all around us if we take a moment to notice them. Even the weeds in the sidewalk are useful.
Dandelions, clover, and plantain can all be food and medicine – our internal weeds can help us see where we need to heal ourselves or our relationships. Dig out the weeds, recognize that they have a purpose. Examine them, fix or change what needs to be fixed or changed, and find joy in your life. Like miracles, joy is all around you if you take a moment to see it.