Seymour man’s handcrafted signs put memories in place

SEYMOUR

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Mark Bengel, owner of Brambleberry Acre and a Gatlinburg police officer, with is wife, Paula, and their two daughters.

Seymour man’s handcrafted signs put memories in place

Ali James, Shopper News

Mark Bengel started Brambleberry Acre vintage Americana décor as just a side thing.

“I was making other wood projects as gifts for family members,” he said. “From there people started asking if I could make something different. I would say ‘I don’t know, let me try.’”

Bengel, a Gatlinburg police offer, said he has always had an affinity for art, but is completely self-taught. “I started making wood flags and from there I started making signs and more local South Knoxville and Tennessee items,” he said. “Now I make an assortment of trail and lake signs.

“One woman lost her house during the wildfires in 2016,” said Bengel, who worked the Gatlinburg fires. “She built a rental cabin where her house stood and had me make her a sign. People had seen my designs, and that spurred my creativity to create more.”

A huge fan of reclaimed wood, Bengel said he is always on the lookout for wood scraps.

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A custom vintage sign handmade by Brambleberry Acre, Sept. 19, 2020. Lake signs can feature a favorite lake with a family name and custom coordinates.

“They are rebuilding tons of homes in Gatlinburg. I’ll ask if I can dumpster dive for any that they are throwing away,” he said. “My garage is a huge scrap pile; there is always a piece I won’t throw away. You never know when I will need it to make it into a sign or a planter box.”

Bengel attempted to use a woodburning technique with limited success, so instead he uses a wood router to make his vintage style trail and lake signs. “I make Norris and Douglas Lake signs, but I also create custom signs for people all over the country from Washington to California to Canada,” he said.

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Brambleberry Acre’s local Seymour sign. April 14, 2020.

With no family nearby, Bengel said he and his wife, who works as a nurse, try to work alternate shifts so they can take care of their two daughters.

“I work in my garage after my shifts and when my daughters are in school,” he said.

“Initially it was difficult, it was more trial and error,” he said of his artwork. “You have to be patient with art, you have to mess up before you learn it. Then you know how to do it over and over again. Doing something that you may fail at is OK.”

Bengel said  he moved to Seymour in 2012 and that it inspired him to look for new challenges.

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Brambleberry Acre’s Knoxville, Tennessee, sign.

“Working with wood is soothing. You can get done with your day and then go and work on something that God made and turn it into something beautiful,” he said.

“I started really getting into woodworking in 2018. By late 2018 we started selling eggs since we had an abundance and were involved in Seymour craft shows and selling art, but we didn’t have great success.”

The name Brambleberry Acre was inspired by his home. “We are backyard farmers,” said Bengel.

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Mark Bengel shared a photo of his Dolly Parton art on July 25,2020, along with a funny story about Dolly Parton losing a Dolly Parton look-alike contest.

“We have thickets, thorns and weeds. That is where we put our chicken coop and our duck pond, and my wife, Paula, came up with the name, based on the wildness of our yard and its beauty. We have so many wild animals walking through there, chickens, ducks and rabbits. My wife grew up in a rural part of Ohio and has an affinity with it. We have turned our property into a mini farm with a greenhouse.”

Bengel posts photos of his work in his Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BrambleberryAcre and on Facebook @brambleberryacre, which inspires people to request their own custom designs. He used to sell his custom vintage-style signs at Seymour Local before it closed at the end of 2020.

POWELL

Tamara Heatherly has a heart for people without a home

Al Lesar, Shopper News

Homelessness carries with it an insecurity that’s difficult to comprehend.

Tamara Heatherly has been there. She knows the feeling.

And now that she’s in a much better position, she’s doing what she can to help others.

It’s what her mother would have wanted.

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The inspiration for Tamara Heatherly’s generosity is her mother, Sherri Lewis, left, who passed away about 10 years ago.

A few years ago, Heatherly — a 2002 Powell High School graduate — left her husband of 10 years “with nothing but the shirt on my back,” she said.

“There was a waiting period for the apartment I was moving to,” Heatherly recalled. “I couldn’t wait to leave. For a brief time, I had no idea where I would go or what I would do.”

After that brush with homelessness, Heatherly started her own residential/small office cleaning business: T’s A+ Cleaning.

Not only did the new venture put Heatherly back on her feet, but it gave her the means to help others.

Helping gene   

Heatherly got that “helping gene” from her mother, Sherri Lewis, who passed away about 10 years ago.

“Growing up, it was just me and my mom,” Heatherly said. “There were times when she would go a few days without food to make sure I had enough to keep from being hungry.

“We were a fairly poor family. We were essentially homeless with a roof over our head. It was very tough. But my mom was the kind of lady who would offer for a friend in trouble to stay with us, even if it meant them sleeping on the couch. She wore her heart on her sleeve.”

It was that background that prompted Heatherly’s positive response to a suggestion from her roommate Jen Akins.

Heatherly talked about the apparently homeless people she’d see on her trip from Powell to downtown Knoxville, where some of her cleaning jobs are. With the arrival of the cold weather, Akins felt there was a need to do something to help them.

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Tamara Heatherly has items destined to be given to the homeless in front of her.

Preparing bags to be dropped off with the individuals could be the route to accomplishing the task.

Love for animals, too   

“We decided we could put together bags with anything that could help a homeless person stay warm,” Heatherly said. “Food, water, coats, blankets, anything we could do.”

Heatherly said she planned on putting together bags specifically for women that would contain feminine needs.

“I’d love to have donations, but whatever I don’t get, I’ll buy myself,” Heatherly said. “It’s exciting to be able to help. Ten years ago, I couldn’t imagine being in this position. It feels so good.”

Heatherly’s plan is to drive up to an apparently homeless person, remain in her running car, and offer a bag. She said any items with a bar code will have it written over so those items can’t be exchanged or sold.

Besides her busy work schedule and the help for the homeless, Heatherly is the volunteer coordinator in the cat adoption center for PetSmart. She spends time there Wednesday and Saturday evenings cleaning kennels and litter boxes, making sure food is available, “and just loving on the cats,” she said.

Last year, she helped the Campbell County Animal Shelter raise $500 for microchips. Heatherly is also the administrator for the Facebook page Animal Lovers Group of Tennessee, which has nearly 9,000 members.

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When she has a chance, Tamara Heatherly works at the cat adoption center at PetSmart.

“I just feel that it’s important to help others,” Heatherly said. “I was around animals all my life, so that’s why I’m still involved. I want to be able to help when I can, just like my mom.”

To donate to Heatherly’s cause, she can be reached on Facebook Messenger or by calling 865-236-3129.

NORTH KNOX

King celebration extended, will feature Town Hall on civil rights

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

Late in 2020 — a year full of loss, frustration and sadness — as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission made plans for their 2021 celebration of the slain civil rights leader’s life, they were guided by one of his sentiments: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope …. I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shunned violence in pursuit of his dreams of racial justice and equality. His life will be celebrated at the 2021 MLK Celebration, presented by the MLK Commemorative Commission.

A timely observation indeed.

Like everyone else, the members of the Commission are pivoting, adjusting and reworking. Though the traditional January celebration is somewhat hobbled by continuing pandemic isolation protocols, they have planned virtual events for January, with a continuing celebration planned through June.

“We’ve had the MLK Day Parade in January in show, sleet and rain!” said Commission chair Deborah Porter, “But the pandemic did keep us from doing it this month.”

Instead of the usual roster of in-person events, the 2021 MLK Celebration begins today at noon with a virtual Interfaith Prayer Service. This Friday there will be a virtual Town Hall event in partnership with The Beck Cultural Exchange Center, titled “Civil Rights Movement in Knoxville.”

Virtual events continue throughout the weekend, with a Jack and Jill of America Oratorical Competition for children, a limited-seating concert by the Knoxville Opera and MLK Community Choir at the Knoxville Museum of Art, and on MLK Day itself, Jan. 18, a virtual community discussion with the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance.

“We had to figure out a way that we could have our events but not put anybody in danger,” said Porter. “As people get vaccinated and things start calming down, tentatively we plan to have more events starting in March and running through June.” The annual MLK Day Parade is planned for June 19, or “Juneteenth,” the holiday commemorating one of the final acts of emancipation of slaves in the U.S. on that date in 1865.

This year’s theme is “A Legacy of Righteous Purpose, Social Justice, and Equality.”

“You know, Representative John Lewis always talked about a righteous purpose — knowing what you’re to do, knowing why you’re here,” said Porter. “Then social justice: we’re recognizing the unrest over the last nine months — we’re piggybacking on those things that happened last year. And looking at it from a positive standpoint:  equality — what does that mean? Can we leave a legacy of equality to our children?”

Porter sees an upside to having to reformulate the annual celebration.

“We had to drop back, punt and kick. And when I think about it, it’s probably better than it could’ve been because even though it’s virtual, we’re doing things once a week. And we’re just excited about how the events will be flowing through the middle of the year. We’re partnering with people. We’re on the map.”

For more info about the 2021 MLK Celebration, including a full list of events, visit MLKKnoxville.com.

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NORTH KNOX

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra — back on stage, back in the community

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the American Federation of Musicians Local 546 have reached an agreement that will bring the musicians of the KSO back to the stage from a furlough that began last August.

© Courtesy of Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Knoxville Symphony violinist Rachel Loseke, originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has been with the KSO since 2012. On furlough since August, KSO musicians will soon be returning to work.

“The pandemic handed the KSO one of the biggest challenges it has ever faced,” KSO board chair Bill Riley said. “While we have much work yet to do, I thank the musicians — who are the heart of our organization — for their efforts as we persevered in reaching an agreement. I am confident that we will emerge from this critical time in our history stronger than ever.”

“We are all looking forward to bringing music back to our patrons and the Knoxville community, especially during this challenging time,” said cellist and chair of the orchestra committee Stacy Nickell. “I am glad we were able to reach an agreement, as we all need the healing power of music.”

That’s not just a nice sentiment. In 2003, then-music director Lucas Richman introduced what would become the KSO’s award-winning Music & Wellness Program, which provides training for musicians to enhance the healing process and benefit patients, visitors and staff in healthcare settings with live music. Miller is one of three KSO musicians who is a Certified Music Practitioner.

But Music & Wellness is just one of many community programs offered by the KSO in addition to its regular schedule of concerts.  

Thousands of East Tennessee children from preschool on up enjoy live orchestral performances — often featuring goofy fun and singalongs — at Young People’s Concerts and Very Young People’s Concerts. Audiences all over the region and even up to Virginia welcome the KSO Chamber Orchestra regularly.

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Violinist Rachel Loseke says one of the things she’s missed most about being on furlough from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is working with pre-K kids.

Musical Story Times at local branch libraries and other venues give very small fry an opportunity to hear an exciting story and a real live string quartet, and the chance to visit with the musicians and learn about their instruments.

Rachel Loseke, a KSO violinist since 2012, says, “during the furlough, one of the things I missed most was my work with pre-K kids. I love feeling like I am using my talent and training in a way that gives back to the community and may positively impact the lives of children! Whether it’s just temporary enrichment or a life-long love of music that I pass on, I’m glad to share the experience of live classical music with this adorable age group.”

Pre-pandemic, anyone who cared to look could also find KSO performing groups in yoga studios, breweries — even an airplane hangar — as part of the UnStaged series, begun by current music director Aram Demirjian.

And of course, KSO members regularly mentor young musicians in the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra, under the leadership of James Fellenbaum.

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KSO musicians — many of whom are parents of young children themselves — participate in Musical Story Times at branch libraries and schools throughout the region. From left in 2015 are violinist Ikuko Koizumi, cellist Theodore I. Kartal, violist Bill Pierce and violinist Rachel Loseke.

KSO executive director Rachel Ford said, “We have greatly missed interacting with our audiences, and for the last several months we have missed the musical gifts of our musicians.

“Finding a path forward has been challenging, but in the end, the musicians, administrative staff and the board of directors have come together to reach an agreement that allows music to continue and our institution to move forward.”

© Courtesy of Knoxville Symphony
The musicians of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, shown here in 2017 with the MLK Day Celebration Choir under the leadership of KSO Resident Conductor James Fellenbaum, will soon be returning to work.

On the stage, yes. But also all over the place, sharing their gifts and bringing incalculable worth to the community. Just as they have always done.

For more info, including virtual events, visit knoxvillesymphony.com.

KARNS

Everyone loves a letter, Ava Wilkins brings old tradition back to life

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

When technology came on the scene, handwritten letters became a thing of the past. Hardin Valley Middle Schooler Ava Wilkins brought the lost artform back to life, writing 100 letters as her New Year’s resolution in 2019.   

She spent 2020 writing eight or nine letters a month to people who have impacted her life, including her mail carrier and — the last of her 100 — to her stationer, sent on New Year’s Eve 2020.   

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Ava Wilkins contemplates who will get the last of her 100 letters Dec. 31, 2020.

“I even wrote one to our mail carrier; they work really hard and deserve a thank you,” said Wilkins.

Wilkins wrote letters to friends, family, and to people who made a difference in her life over the years, including teachers, neighbors, church friends.

Hand lettering and calligraphy is a hobby of Wilkins’, and she put it to good use with each letter, then decorated the envelope, making for a special presentation.

“A lot went into the letters. I lettered them each, and that took a while.”

Wilkins said her favorite letters contained a note of thank you or prayers, plus a little bit about her life.

She got the idea from her mom, Jennifer Wilkins, who wrote letters to her grandparents religiously. When they died, she found a stack of her old letters and cherished them.

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Ava Wilkins painted her own Father’s Day cards as a special gift to her father Sunday, June 21, 2020.

“My mom found a stack of letters she had written to her grandparents. They were so special, I realized then that letter writing was special and that no one is doing it anymore. People send texts or emails, but never a handwritten letter. I decided that would be my New Year’s resolution. Everyone loves to get a letter.”

Wilkins received a few letters back. One person was so surprised and pleased he sent her back a “thank you” note and stamps to keep her on her journey.

She kept herself on track by making an intricate monthly schedule of recipients.

Letter writing isn’t Wilkins’ only talent. She is a creative soul who designs and sews clothing and is a talented watercolor artist.

Wilkins believes in challenging herself. Her resolution for 2021 is to learn how to play guitar.

OPIONION

Relationship a joy to see

Leslie Snow, Shopper News

It used to be me. A few years ago, I was the one Simon ran to when he came for a visit. He would hop up and down, laughing with excitement, then jump into my arms. I’d hold him close and swing him around just to hear him laugh. And once he was in my arms, he wouldn’t let go.

I learned to work one-handed back then. I’d hold Simon while I searched the freezer for his favorite ice cream. I’d carry him when I made dinner or unloaded the dishwasher. And all the while we’d talk about his favorite foods or his favorite colors. We’d talk about trucks and superheroes or anything else that interested him.

When he was younger, he wouldn’t go to bed without a story from me. I watched him brush his teeth and helped him find his favorite pajamas. We snuggled in bed with the lights out and sang silly songs about all the people who loved him. Back when he was 2, we were inseparable friends.

My grandson Simon is 5 now, and over the last couple years, something has shifted. He still wraps his arms around me when he gives me a hug. He still wants me to chase him or play hide-and-seek, but when he comes for a visit, all he sees is his grandfather, his Babba Snow.

Babba is big and strong and can do practically anything. At least that’s what Simon tells me. He builds the best train tracks and cooks the best food. He knows the greatest ice cream flavors and understands the power of Pokemon. He’s an expert in all the things Simon loves.

“Babba knows a lot about dangerous animals,” Simon told me when we last visited. “And he can draw a blue ringed octopus better than anybody.” Important skills for any grandparent.

But I think Simon’s love for his grandfather is about more than his superior drawing skills or his vast knowledge of Pokemon. I think my husband gives Simon something he craves — a perfect cuddle partner.

Whenever the grandkids are in town for a visit, Simon wants to watch TV in our bedroom. He likes to snuggle under the covers and get the kind of extended TV time he doesn’t get at home. It’s one of the things he likes best about visiting us.

But invariably, while we’re watching Paw Patrol or another favorite cartoon, my mind starts to wander.

I plan dinner in my head while the pups are rescuing a missing turtle.

I make a mental to-do list when I should be worrying about that poor walrus trapped on a boat.

I think about the news. I wonder if it’s going to rain.

Before long, my phone chimes and I start scrolling through email. I’m with Simon in body but not in spirit. It’s hard to pay attention to cartoons when there is so much to do.

But not Babba. If his mind wanders, he doesn’t show it. He knows all the characters by name and can sing along with the Paw Patrol theme song. He cheers for the lost turtle and that silly walrus. He laughs at all the jokes and claps when the pups save the day. And Simon loves it. He scoots closer and closer to his grandfather until the two are cocooned under the covers, two peas in a cozy pod.

Sometimes I miss the days when I had to cook one-handed, but Simon’s relationship with his Babba is a beautiful thing to see. And I wouldn’t change it even if I could.

Leslie Snow may be reached @[email protected].

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Shopper News Blog: Seymour man’s handcrafted signs put memories in place