10/29/2026
Today, Oct. 29, the Rotary Club of Marion held its regular weekly meeting at the Marion Community Building.
Past President Steve Bush led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and conducted our meeting. Rotarian Chip Cross gave the invocation. Past President Bush led us in the Four Way Test.
Our member spotlight featured Rotarian Rachel Ray who has been a member of Rotary since 2023.
Rotarian Arthur Parks told us about an upcoming bowling event at Lightning Lanes on Tuesday, Nov. 10. We will gather there for fun and fellowship and enjoy some bowling.
We will gather Friday at Taylors Brewing Co. at 125 West Henderson St. starting at 5:30 p.m. for another social event.
We were proud to recognize Logan Vess and Nicholas Letterman of McDowell Early College as the Academic Students of the Week. They were introduced by Rotarian Linda Reader and received certificates from Past President Steve.
Our program today was presented by Carly Collins with the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort.
Carly told us about the history of the food was cooked and prepared by the settlers in the mountains of the Southern Appalachians. These settlers were from the North and immigrants from other countries who made their way to North Carolina and what is now Tennessee during the 18th century and early 19th century.
Carly described how these pioneers made their way into what was then a wilderness in the Piedmont and mountains of colonial North Carolina. Many of them were Germans and Scotch-Irish immigrants. They brought their traditions and native foods with them. Their food traditions included cast-iron griddles, layered treats and frying foods in fat. With the West African spices, this resulted in today’s Southern fried chicken.
She told us about how the Scotch-Irish used corn and wheat to make wh***ey and moonshine. Some of the key influences on Southern Appalachian cuisine were the Cherokees and their food traditions and the African-Americans who were enslaved. She talked about Appalachian staples like pawpaws, ramps and liver mush. She also talked about the various methods of food preservations like canning, curing and smoking.
These mountain settlers in western North Carolina are the reason the Mountain Gateway Museum celebrates Pioneer Day on the last Saturday of April. Next year, the museum will again hold Pioneer Day at its traditional location on the grounds. This will be the first time the event will be held there since Hurricane Helene caused considerable damage to the museum’s property.
Carly said the museum in Old Fort has a new director and the museum should be open again in its original building by the end of the year.
Be sure to check out our website: www.rotaryofmarionnc.org. If you miss a meeting, you can make it up online. To enter a makeup, login to DacDB, select My Data tab followed by Enter Makeup button. You can also email us at [email protected] . You can also find the club on Instagram.
