Neighborhood Music Teacher is Back in Action!

An Artist in Residence at the Center for Faith and the Arts, Fulton Heights resident Laurie Klaus is excited to put pandemic isolation behind her! Though virtual lessons will still be an option, in-person voice and piano lessons, as well as audition prep coaching, will be offered beginning the week of April 12.

All in-person lessons will be at the Center for Faith and the Arts, on Harrison St. in Salisbury. There are currently limited openings for private lessons and coaching sessions. Laurie continues to monitor changes in CDC guidelines, hoping she will soon be able to safely expand her studio through offering various types of music classes. Information about future classes will be posted on the Center for Faith and the Arts’ Facebook page, as well as on Laurie’s Instagram (pianolauriek).

An award-winning Music Director/Keyboardist known throughout the Piedmont’s theatre community, Laurie specializes in audition preparation for musicals, teaching people to hear pitch and match it, and expand singers’ vocal ranges. She enjoys working with all ages and levels of experience, with current students ranging in age from 5-75. Her piano students’ levels range from beginner to intermediate.

Outside her studio, Laurie is sought out for her skills in teaching and directing vocals, conducting for musicals, and performing as both an accompanist and pit musician. During the pandemic, she was thrilled to be able to music direct Lee St. Theatre’s Fun Home and Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance’s Head Over Heels. This spring, she will be accompanying a college student for his senior trumpet recital, and music directing Old Courthouse Theatre’s Nunsense, which will be produced in May. 

Past career highlights include contracts with Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, where she conducted instrumental ensembles as they prepared to open the park’s live shows. During their 2013 Christmas Town, she conducted a 16-piece orchestra from the piano for Gloria!, USA Today’s top-rated Christmas Show in Theme Parks for that season. She was honored to be in the pit orchestra for the world premiere of Frank Wildhorn’s musical, Zelda: An American Love Story, at Flat Rock Playhouse, where she was contracted the following season as a rehearsal pianist for Les Miserables.

For information about rates and available lesson times, Laurie can be contacted at 704-245-2802 (text or call), through Instagram message, or via email at laurieklaus2@gmail.com.

Back to “The Neighborhood”

Submitted by Starr Shive:
In 1973, my husband, Vic and I bought our first house on Mitchell Avenue.  After a lot of work on the house, we had two wonderful sons and enjoyed spending 10 great years in “The Neighborhood”. Lots of friends, sidewalks for strolling, and Eaman Park Pool.  
Vic’s job gave us an opportunity to move to Louisiana.  We had 10 years there and enjoyed a lot of new experiences.  Thankfully, we returned to Salisbury “our real hometown” ,and bought a house in another neighborhood.  
Long story short, our boys grew up, went to college, and got married and had 2 children each.  Sadly, my husband passed away and I stayed in the house for about 3 more years until I decided to scale down.  Lucky for me I found a fixer upper on Wiley Avenue.  After 2 years of tender loving care and much deliberation I bought the house and was back in “The Neighborhood”……where I belong!  
No regrets!  Again I have these wonderful sidewalks, friendly neighbors, and Eaman Park Pool is still there!!  

News from Historic Salisbury Foundation

Submitted by Leah Campion, Events Coordinator, HSF:

Greetings, Fulton Heights residents!

We are excited to see restrictions loosening with the pandemic so we can bring you some exciting HSF events in the near future. Work has still been going on behind the scenes! Here’s how we’ve kept busy: 

We operate an Architectural Salvage Warehouse at the Ice House on East Horah Street! As you continue with your home improvement and Pinterest projects, check out the offerings at the Ice House! We also take donations of historic materials. In fact, two of your neighbors on Maupin Avenue recently donated windows and a bathtub for resale. The Ice House is open 9am-12pm on Saturdays and by appointment. If you need an appointment, please contact the HSF office at office@historicsalisbury.org.

We have been working to improve our social media presence so follow us on Facebook at Historic Salisbury Foundation and @historicsalisburyfoundation on Instagram. These sites are the best source for all things HSF! Our website is also a great source of information – www.historicsalisbury.org.

OctoberTour had a successful year in 2020 as a virtual event. We hope you participated. But there’s nothing like an in-person homes tour, and we are planning a live tour for 2021! Stay tuned to social media for more information. 

Our always popular History on Tap (HOT) series is a go for this summer! More information is forthcoming. Check out the History on Tap page on our website for past HOT events.

Do you need some questions answered about your historic property? Since Fulton Heights is not a locally registered historic district (Nationally Registered only), you do not have to follow the rules of the Salisbury Historic Preservation Commission. However, if the historical integrity of your home is important to you, a great resource is the State Historic Preservation Office. Bret Sturm – Restoration Specialist, State Historic Preservation Office brett.sturm@ncdcr.gov.Become an HSF member or renew your membership today! https://historicsalisbury.kindful.com/

Eaman Park Pool Celebrates 65 years

Submitted by Bailey Wingler:

Eaman Park Pool, located at 123 Eaman Avenue, is Salisbury’s longest running swim club and has served the local community for 65 years!  This popular recreational spot is within walking distance of Fulton Heights and serves as a “home away from home” for families throughout Rowan County.  Eaman Park Pool is a stock-owned, private swim club that provides its members with pool access from 6:00am-9:00pm daily beginning Memorial Day weekend.  Members are required to pay annual dues and to play an active role in the pool community.  At Eaman, members enjoy family-friendly events throughout the Summer months including poolside cookouts, ice cream socials, paint and sip events and SO MUCH MORE!  The children at Eaman Park Pool develop friendships and memories that last a lifetime.  They detach from the screens and spend their days playing Sharks and Minnows, practicing their cannonballs, and enjoying pizza at a picnic table with their friends.  Many of these kids grow up and become lifeguards at our pool before returning later with families of their own.  

Amenities at Eaman Park Pool include bike racks, men’s and women’s bath houses, keyless entry, first come-first serve pool chairs and picnic tables, diving board and Snack Shack.  Certified lifeguards are on duty from 12 noon-6pm daily and children 13 and up, who pass a swim test, are permitted to swim without a parent during lifeguard hours.  Our lifeguards also offer swim lessons throughout the Summer at a minimal fee. Current stockholders and new members who join before April 15th will enjoy $25 off their dues for 2021. 
For more information about becoming a stock owning member at EPP, please visit the website atwww.eamanparkpool.com.  Questions should be directed to 2021 Pool President, and Fulton Heights’ resident, Daphne Safrit at eamanparkpool2012@gmail.com.

Centennial Park Turns 15

Submitted by Maggie Blackwell:

It’s hard for me to believe we are about to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Centennial Park here in Fulton Heights. 

So much has changed in the intervening time. The kids who served on the playground committee to select equipment – Emalee Young, Emma and Maddy Labovitz and others, have all graduated from college.

The name of the park was Amanda Bosh’s brainchild, as the neighborhood was just about to recognize its 100th anniversary. Amanda has since moved from her twin house on Mitchell Avenue, but the park name is a classic one and I appreciate her vision. 

Leila Fairies, who lived on Wiley Avenue, closed her beauty shop for a day so she could remove all telltale equipment and we hosted a KILLER of a party that night, April 8, 2005, where we raised $8,800 auctioning off goods and services, many of which were donated by our own neighbors. The Cunninghams on Wiley Avenue built and donated a bookshelf. Emily Brinskelle on Maupin Avenue, who has also moved on, donated a hotly-contested original painting. Many, many other neighbors donated items, and virtually every vendor in town gave something. Teresa Pitner on Wiley Avenue was a bulldog in asking people for donations. The auction would not have happened without her. A neighbor got a vendor to donate beer and wine. Another got Catawba students to serve as bartenders. A local teenager with an iPod and speakers served as DJ. 

After the party, Mandy Monath on Mitchell Avenue organized the sale of personalized bricks that border the sidewalks. Jean Hudson on Maupin Avenue, who has since passed away, bought the first brick, taking the cash from her freezer where her son-in-law required her to keep it. The Hoffman family on Mitchell purchased a bench to honor their mom. 

Of course there are names I have forgotten and for that I apologize. Each and every contribution to the park, whether it was financial, tangible or labor, is so important and made our park what it is today.

All in all, we raised about $54,000 for the City of Salisbury to build the park. Although they performed the physical labor, the park would not have been possible without the love and labor of our neighbors here in Fulton Heights. 

And that, my friends, is why I love our neighborhood. 

Submitted by Maggie Blackwell

FHNA Annual Meeting Link

Reminder: Contact DotGeofHoy at gmail.com to receive a link and agenda to participate in our Fulton Heights Neighborhood Association Virtual Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 7 PM. Please contact prior to 6 PM on Jan. 12. Thanks!