Rutherford Weekly

OUR 23 rd YEAR • ISSUE NO. 8 • FEBRUARY 26, 2015 RutherfordWeekly.com 828-248-1408 FREE FREE RUTHERFORD COUNTY'S #1 CHOICE IN ADVERTISING RUTHERFORD COUNTY'S #1 CHOICE IN ADVERTISING S M A L L TOW N F R I E N D LY S M A L L TOW N F R I E N D LY 369 Butler Rd., Forest City 828.248.1408 rutherfordweekly.com B I G T I M E T I M E R E S U LTS R E S U LTS As Amy Drum and her family made their way to Beech Mountain, colorful squares on old buildings kept capturing her eyes. After driving past, those pops of color lingered and made her think about the building where it hung. "I started to think 'I wonder what the history of that building is and the area,'" Drum said. "I realized it was a great way to bring attention to a building or area that might not otherwise be noticed, and then I started to think about Cliffside." Cliffside is more than just Drum's hometown. The small town's heritage is a part of who she is - her great- great-grandfather, Raleigh Rutherford Haynes, built Cliffside Mills (later Cone Mills). "I felt like barn quilts would be a way to shed a light back on Cliffside," Drum said. Drum researched barn quilts online and is self-taught in painting them. When she started, she said, she would paint until 2 a.m., making a bunch at once with ideas of who would receive them. Some of the first recipients of Drum's artwork were McKinney-Landreth & Carroll Funeral Home and the Bostic Lincoln Center. She's since made quilts for Cliffside Elementary and residents of Cliffside. Painting a barn quilt takes time. Once you've decided on a pattern, Drum said, you have to sketch and tape it off. Paint is applied in layers, with a hair dryer used between to speed drying time. the smaller the pattern, Drum said, the more tedious the process. While any board approved for outdoor use would work for a barn quilt, Drum prefers birch. "It's more expensive, but it lasts better and it has a more smooth surface," she said. Barn quilts can go on any building, but looks better on old buildings, Drum said. "They can also be freestanding," she added. Drum shares her love of barn quilts with others by teaching classes at her studio at the Cliffside Community Arts Center as well as at the Union Mills Learning Center and the Cleveland County Arts Council. Classes at the Union Mills Learning Center will be held March 5 and 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $45. To register, email Drum at amybdrum@gmail.com. By Allison Flynn • allison@rutherfordweekly.com By Allison Flynn • allison@rutherfordweekly.com BARN QUILTS A NEW FABRIC FOR BARN QUILTS A NEW FABRIC FOR COMMUNITY BUILT ON TEXTILES COMMUNITY BUILT ON TEXTILES Dr. Kim Gold never imagined she might someday follow in her father's footsteps as executive vice president at Isothermal Community College. In fact, a career in education wasn't something she thought she would even pursue - until one day she stepped into a classroom and fell in love with teaching others. Gold, who has been a part of the administrative team at Isothermal Community College for six years, was recently named executive vice president. In this new role, she will continue to oversee academic and student services and institutional assessment. A Rutherford County native, Gold has been an employee for 18 years, but her time at Isothermal is longer than just those she's been on the payroll. "My dad started out at Isothermal as an English professor and retired as an administrator," Gold said of her father, Dillard Morrow. "So I'd always known Isothermal and even took dual enrollment classes in high school before there was dual enrollment." As an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gold didn't plan to become a teacher. It was after she received her master's degree at Western Carolina University that the opportunity to teach presented itself. "My grandmother taught kindergarten for 42 years and always told me I should grow up and become a teacher," Gold explained. "So after I finished my master's degree, I took a part time teaching position at Montreat College. It was terrifying but I just loved it. I thought 'This is why my grandmother likes this - this connection to her students.'" Helen Lowery offered Gold a position at Isothermal, where Gold was struck by how committed the faculty and staff were to helping students. "I went from no way I'd ever be a teacher to being a teacher," she said. "It's a decision I've never, ever regretted." Her years in the classroom prepared her for being an administrator, Gold said. "As a teacher, you guide a student from one point to another," she said. "I take the same philosophy with the people I lead now. As a teacher, you teach a group of students and then the next semester, it's a new group of students. As an administrator I get to build ongoing relationships and build on our learning environment. It's a rewarding job." Growing up with Isothermal in her life, Gold said it wasn't until she joined the faculty that she could see the tremendous impact the college has on the community. "I've been lucky to be a part of Isothermal's history at times when there have been important decisions," she said, including being a part of the steering committee that created REaCH (Rutherford Early College High School). "I hope what we do here on campus every day puts our county in a better place." Gold has been blessed to have had great mentors, she said, who have shaped who she is as an administrator and her service to the community. "I hope I can do the same thing for other people." BECOMING A PART OF ISOTHERMAL CAMPUS BECOMING A PART OF ISOTHERMAL CAMPUS IS DECISION GOLD DOESN'T REGRET m f I a s - c o a C r I o a h h t a a f k e t Amy Drum is self taught in painting barn quilts. She was inspired to paint them after passing old buildings featuring the colorful squares on trips to Beech Mountain. Drum hopes to create a barn quilt trail in Rutherford County that will highlight small towns like her native Cliffside. ACE EQUIPMENT ACE EQUIPMENT SALES & SERVICE SALES & SERVICE Any equipment purchased from Ace Equipment FREE PICKUP FREE PICKUP & DELIVERY & DELIVERY on all service work on all service work in February in February AVOID THE RUSH! AVOID THE RUSH! 126 Park Lane Drive 126 Park Lane Drive Rutherfordton, NC 28139 Rutherfordton, NC 28139 Behind BB&T Bank Behind BB&T Bank 828-286-9781 828-286-9781 Call Today! All types snow sleds in stock! 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