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THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2006
BUSINESS
Textile mill finds new life as anehor of Triangle eommunity
By Rob Shapard
THE HERALD SUN OF DURHAM
SAXAPAHAW, N.C, - A
renaissance is blossoming in
this quiet pocket of
Alamance County along a
rocky stretch of the Haw
Eiver. The previous life of
the old, brick tertile mill in
the center of Saxapahaw is
over.
It ended when Dixie Yams
Runaway
slaves
heroes of
new game
By Colin McEvoy
THE (HARRISBURG) PATRIOT-NEWS
LEYMONE, Pa. - ‘Daddy,
can you make me a game?”
When his then-lO-year-old
son asked him that in the
summer of 1981, Mayer
Foner had no idea where it
would lead him.
He gave up his job as a
Harrisburg teacher to
become a full-time Lemoyne
game store owner, Tbday he
is still making games - and
he is still teachir^.
Last month, Foner
released his newest game,
The Central Pennsylvania
Underground Railroad
Game, based on the experi
ences of runaway slaves
seeking freedom during the
Civil War-era.
“This is a game of hope,”
Foner said. “The hope is
there because, at the end of
the game, one of the slaves
win definitely escape.”
TOth this game, Foner is
^so celebrating the 25th
birthday of his Lemoyne
store.
Prom the outside, the store
looks like any other: an
almost generic-looking brick
building with one small,
modest sign that reads “M.
Foner’s Games Only
Emporium.”
One step inside, however,
and you are transported to a
world of hobbyists and game
fanatics.
Boxes of niche-marketed
board and card games line
the shelves, tiny figures and
models for table-top games
decorate a glass display, and
posters for everything finm
‘Pokemon” and “FuH Metal
Alchemist” to “Lord of the
Rings” and “Star Wars”
games are proudly displayed
on the walls.
Before retirii^ to inn his
store full-time, Foner was a
histoiy buff and elementary
teacher in the Harrisburg
School District for 15 years,
where he would often use
games as an educational
tool. His newest game fol
lows the same logic.
‘You’re learning as you
play but you’re almost learn
ing accidentally” Fonei* said.
‘It’s not something you’re
thinking about, because
you’re learning but you’re
having fun doing it.”
Although it is not the first
game to focus on the secret
escape routes used by slaves
dining the 19th century, it is
the first to focus exclusively
on the Pennsylvania escape
network, according to Karen
James, coordinator for
Undergroxmd Railroad his
tory at the Pennsylvania
Historical Museum
Commission.
“I think the way the game
plays, you can really get a.
sense for what it was hke to
be in that time, in that situ
ation,” James said. “I think
this game is going to be a
really good thing for
Pennsjdvania.”
‘It’s a nice diversion,” said
Keith Previc, a Camp HiU
resident who helped test the
game before its release last
month.
shut it in 1994, ending some
150 years of manufacturing
at the mill, which served as a
key industry and center of
activity for the community of
mill houses around it.
But the Jordan family that
used to own the mil] boi^ht
it back and spent the last
decade giving the property a
$10 million renovation. It’s
flourishing now with a com
pletely new life.
The impact goes beyond
Saxapahaw and reaches into
both the Itian^e and Triad.
The rental apartments
bmlt within the old mill com
plex are drawing people who
commute to jobs around the
region, as close as Chapel
Hill and Greensboro and
even over to Ralei^ or down
to Charlotte, said Heather
LaGarde, who fives nearby
on an old dairy farm and
works for the Jordans in
marketii^ the mil] project.
And the fiee “Saturdays in
Saxapahaw” events the
Rivermill project sponsors
across the street are drawing
about 300 people to the com
munity on the weekends,
fiom the Triad as well as
Orange, Chatham and
Durham counties and
beyond.
The sense of vigor and new
fife that the place now
emanates just how challeng
ing it was to turn the defunct
mill back into the communi
ty’s center.
“There were many many
sleepless ni^ts,” said Mac
Jordan, 44, who has led the
Rivermill project. ‘Tt’s been a
long, loi^road.”
“(But now) it’s unbeliev
able,” Jordan said. “It
exceeds all of my imagina
tion. It’s been 20 yearn of
dreaming that something
fike this coTild happen.”
The mill is there because
the river is there. The origi
nal cotton mill was built
around 1844 as a wooden
structure.
PHOTO/WADE NASH
Dr. Peggy Fuller wanted to have more interaction with patients like Mary Ann Crouch when she launched
her Charlotte practicee. “It takes time to make a diagnosis, to establish a rapport,’’ she said. “I wanted
to do it differently. Not necessarily better, just differently.’’
More than skin deep
Dermatologist prefers on-to-one patient relationships
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Dr. Pe^yPuUer’sjobistomake
pati^ts comfortable in their own
skin.
Thot^ dermatology was not
her first choice in medical school,
it has been one that has brought
fulfillment. During the very last
rotation of her internal medicine
residency, at the Boston Veterans
Administration Medical Center,
Fuller realized she could .use her
surgical and clinical skills along
with hand-eye coordination to
have the best of all worlds. She
has never looked back.
Bom on a farm in Cedar Grove,
Fuller, a Board Certified
Dermatologist, has practiced in
Charlotte since 1997. Formerly
with Charlotte Dermatology, she
opened the Esthetics Center for
Dermatology in the Elizabeth
neighborhood last month.
“One of my core philosophies is
building relationships,” said
Fuller. ‘T want to care for sevo'al
generations of patients. It takes
time to build relationships. TOth
managed care, there were so
many constraints.”
Previously Fhller could see
between 40-45 patients in a day
“It takes time to make a diagno
sis; to establish a rapport,” she
said. ‘T wanted to do it different
ly Not necessarily better just dif
ferently”
Although Fuller is the only
Afiican-American woman derma
tologist in Charlotte, she does not
consider herself a pioneer. “In my
career of medicine, I have not
been the ‘only’” she said.
Puller earned her master’s-fium
Tufts University School of
Medicine, before completing her
dermatological residency at
Brown University “In my class,
my dermatology residency there
was another black male, that
completed his training with me,”
said Fuller.
Her female predecessor Dr. Erin
Walker, worked in Charlotte
before relocating to Northern
California. Dr. John Reed, an
African-American male, was
working in Charlotte prior to
Fuller’s arrival, and currently
works at Presbyterian Hospital.
‘Damatology is a small special
ty However there are quite a few
people of color within the special
ty who have been pioneers in the
field,” she said. ‘We are a fairly
close knit specialty so there is
quite a bit of camaraderie
between other multi-ethnic
groups.”
Her ease with people within her
profession mi^t account for ver
satility in her practice.
‘When I first moved to
Charlotte I had predominantly
Caucasian patients,” said “I’m
comfortable treating all skin-
tyE>es and servicing a multi-ethnic
population,” she said.
Along with the change in
patient makeup, the American
Academy of Dermatology fellow,
and member of the Society of
Dermatologic Surgery has seen
shifts in skin conditions.
“Blacks and Asian have
increased incidences of
melanoma...in hands and nails.
We’ve also seen an increase in
incidences of non-melanoma skin
cancCTS in blacks and Latinos.”
Dr. Fuller explained that the idea
that Blacks don’t have to worry
about sim exposure is a fallacy
and myth that they would fike to
debunk. “There is a massive effort
by the American Academy of
Dermatology May is skin cancer
awareness month,” she said.
An avid runner, Fuller says she
wears sunscreen everyday
“Sunscreen is important,” she
said. “Not only sunscreen, but
protective hat, dothir^, protective
eyewear to prevent premature
cataracts.”
Fuller recommends products
that are dermatologist tested and
recommended. “TheyTl be void of
perfumes and potential aller
gens.” She encourages using prod
ucts with an SPF of 15 or higher
that protect against UVA and
UVB rays.
Surprisingly Fuller discussed
another new trend the industry
has discovered. ‘We’re also seeing
an increase of blacks going to tan
ning beds,” said Fuller,” that’s a
new phenomenon.”
Though most dermatologists
are ejq^erts in treating skin can
cers, Fuller eqjlained that a lot of
people don’t realize what all a der-
“Most of the patients, generally
equate dermatology with warts
and acne. Dermatology is a spe-
dalty that treats the hair skin
and nails,” she said.
There is a misconception of the
amount of work the field entails.
People think that [dermatology] is
easy That you can just look ait a
rash and make a diagnosis. Often
times that’s possible, but it’s a
very complex specialty So many
systemic diseases have (skin)
manifestations. It can be quite
perplexing...and very humbling.”
Young professional manages his money
By Nicki Lefever
YORK DAILY RECORD
YORK, Pa. - At 22, Stan Paris was sitting on a sub
stantial savings account.
Thanks to his parents and steady summer work, he
graduated finm York College with a dean finandal
slate - no credit card debt, no student loans.
He could have blown his $17,000 nest egg on a new
car, an upscale apartment or expensive dothes, but he
drose to put a down payment on a starter home. That
dedsion, along with otherwise financial moves, led the
27-year-old York resident to his current comfortable
finandal existence.
Earlier this year, he quit his job and set off on a year
of travel.
‘T am not a religious person,” he said, “but I am very
blessed.”
Although he started out after college making a small
salary workir^ as a legislative assistant for York
Mayor John Brenner, he wasn’t living paycheck to pay-
check hoping Sodal Security or the lottery would take
care of his retirement.
In his five years in the real world, he’s invested his
money in an IRA, 401(k) and a few stocks. He has set
goals, attained goals and made new goals. He did
things many young professionals could only dream of
doing - he took control of his finances early
Paris was aware of the conc^t of compounding—the
earlier investments are made, the more money is accu
mulated over time with less of an initial investment.
BellSouth
No. 1 on
NAACP
telecom list
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BellSouth Corporation has finished first
among telecommunications companies as
part of the 2006 NAACP Economic
Redprodty Initiative. This is the second
year in a row the corporation has received
the highest score of all the companies sur
veyed across five industries.
“It was our goal to betto our 2005 score,
and I’m pleased that our efforts made a
difference and that the NAACP is also
acknowledging our progress,” said
BellSouth Chief Diversity Officer Valencia
Adams.
This year Atlanta-based BellSouth
received a score of 3.54 (grade B-plus), an
improvement over its 2005 top-finishing
score of 3.33 (grade B-minus).
The NAACP uses the scores to measure
the efforts of major corporations in the
areas of hiring, promotion, procurement,
philanthropy, and marketing in hopes of
creating a more e-nligbtened consvuner
base. The organization grades companies
in five general areas relating to their
diversity practices in: employment, adver
tising and marketing spending, service
deployment, vendor relations, and charita
ble giving. The five industries measured
are lodging, telecommunications, financial
Services, general merchandising, and
automotive.
BellSouth is a Fortune 500 communica
tions company and has joint control and 40
percent ownerehip of Cingular "Wireless,
the nation’s largest wireless voice and data
provider with 55.8 million customs. It is
one of Charlotte’s largest employers.
On the Net:
NAACP
www.naacp.org
BellSouth Corp.
www.bellsouth.comJ.
Economic literacy
campaign Saturday
By Herbert L. White
hefto.vYti(fe@Ttiechof1ofteposf.com
Are you money sa%’vy?
The Campaign for Economic Literacy
kicks off Saturday at Greenville
Memorial AME Zion Church, 6116
Montieth Drive. The Rev. Joseph
Washington, chairman and CEO of the
Boston-based Organization for a New
Equahty will introduce the program.
Churches will be prepared for four work
shops through orientation and training
sessions that start at 8:30 a.m.
Charlotte is one of four sites to partici
pate in the campaign along with Harlem
and Queens, N.Y, and Horry Covmty S.C.
(Myrde Beach). Bank of America is spon-
sorir^ the campaign through ONE,
whose goal is to e}q)and economic oppor
tunities for individuals traditionally out
side the . economic mainstream.
Workshops teach people how to build
financial independence and access credit
and capital. Also, faith leaders, their con
gregations and n^^Jbors are taught the
power of responsible credit and invest
ment through information and empower
ment skills
Pastors and their church representa
tives are encouraged to attend the three-
part campaign, which starts with com
munity awareness, followed by economic
literacy workshops and an economic hter-
acy summit.
The sessions are fi^. For information
or to confirm attendance, call Charlotte
organizer Pat Schulz at (704) 649-7598 or
e-mail newequahtycharlotte(2msn.com.