Moses Cone Estate

First Time in the Kitchen

| Flower Roberts

I was going to keep this short, but then that would not be the whole story.

The truth is we needed help.

My sister and I wanted to take my parents, a 92-year-old friend, and his daughters to Moses Cone Estate.

My parents had not been there in years due to mobility issues. They wanted to return with their friend.

My sister contacted Ranger Chuck to help make this happen.

We planned the date. The ranger arranged help for us to push the wheel chair back up the steep hill.

My parents and their friend watched both the wonderful films about the Cone family history.

Then there was a surprise. We got to go in the kitchen.

We had been coming here for over fifty years and never set eyes on this part of the mansion.

My woodworker daddy had to see how the drawers were made.

Ranger Chuck gave a talk about the family history and the house.

They even assisted in taking photographs of our whole crew.

I guess this post wasn’t really about the kitchen.

It was about kindness. It was about going above and beyond duty.

We were making memories with family and long-time friends.

It was the first time in the kitchen, but with all of us together again…

it felt like home.

FLOW

Moses Cone Manor

| Flower Roberts

Between the mountains and the sky of North Carolina

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is a mansion

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with a view of a lovely lake in the valley below.

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I have rocked on the porch

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and climbed the stairs to wander its rooms and peek out its windows

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and think of a time,  when a man with a vision

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could see it to its fruition, by age fifty one.

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Amazing.

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FLOWER

The Second Story

| Flower Roberts

I have been going to the Cone Estate outside Blowing Rock, NC for decades.

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This was my second trip upstairs.

My first was years ago. My camera battery died at the top of the steps. Hi, Ho!

My sister and friend, CP, lucked up on it being open while we were there.

It was like winning the lottery.  My camera had a full battery, too.

There is a book about this estate, A Mansion in the Mountains, by Philip T. Noblitt.

This book started as his graduate thesis. If you love the place, you will love the book.

The second floor has lovely details.

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Photos of Moses and Bertha Cone and other family portraits are scattered around in the rooms.

The sisters have a famous art collection on display in Baltimore.IMG_5353

There were several tour guides sharing fascinating details.

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I was happy to see some renovations in progress.

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The bottom floor has local art and a book store.

A featured artist sets up in the covered porch on weekends to demonstrate crafts.

That will be my next post. The art was magical.

I will end with a view from the second story window.

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Below is Bass lake and the newly renovated “Heart Pond.”

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I have walked here many times.

This place is a dream.

FLOWER