This Weekend in Stanly County
By Bridget Huckabee
It’s time to get out and about this winter weekend in Stanly County. There’s a swimming team to cheer on, a workshop where you can learn to draw cartoons like Dennis the Menace and a Winter Revue by the Fancy Feet Dance Studio.
On Saturday, the Falling Rivers Gallery presents a Dennis the Menace Cartoon Workshop from 10 am until noon. Illustrator Marcus Hamilton will share his cartoon illustration technique with participants. Come and learn how to draw like a pro.
On Sunday, the Fancy Feet Dance Studio presents its Winter Revue at the Agri-Civic Center. Stop by and watch these aspiring young dancers show off the techniques they have learned throughout the year.
At 2 pm on Saturday, Pfeiffer Swimming team takes on Mars Hill at Pfeiffer University.
While you’re on the Pfeiffer campus supporting the swimming team, take some time to explore the Misenheimer community. Big changes are in store for this quiet corner of the county. The widening of NC Highway 49 and US Highway 52 will bring more traffic and more commercial development to the area. Misenheimer is gearing up for these changes and is determined to shape them to suit the interests of the village and its inhabitants. The vision is for an educational, residential and agricultural community.
The jewel in Misenheimer’s crown is Pfeiffer University. With its pleasing architecture and tree-shaded campus, this facility attracts a diversified student body from both inside and outside North Carolina as well as from overseas. Throughout the academic year cultural and sporting events take place on a regular basis. Check out the beautiful chapel, the art gallery, the small theater and the newly renovated student center. Keep an eye on the University calendar and you’ll find there are many events in these venues where the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
While Misenheimer was only incorporated in 2003, it has a long history of tourism and education. In the late 1800’s a stop on the railroad called Gladstone brought visitors to an early tourist destination called Misenheimer Springs. The village boasted a gold mine and an academy. The gold mine is long gone, but the academy became the Mitchell Home School that eventually evolved into Pfeiffer University. Since that time, education has been the major industry of the area.
And so perhaps Misenheimer’s early days of tourism and education foreshadowed its future. Easier access to the region is sure to attract more tourists and the village is already part of the Uwharrie Lakes Region. It is in close proximity to the lakes themselves, the Uwharrie National Forest, Morrow Mountain State Park and within easy driving distance of the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. With Pfeiffer University and the new Gray Stone Charter High School located in Misenheimer, the community is close to its goal of becoming an Educational Village.
Misenheimer’s future is shared with its closely located sister city of Richfield, and together they foresee a bright future for this northern corner of Stanly County.