Alcoa recently donated and installed a stainless steel turbine runner (water wheel) as a piece of public art for the Town of Badin. Sitting in a prominent position on the village green across from the Badin Town Hall, the water wheel is a symbol of the Narrows Dam that was instrumental in the creation of the Town of Badin. The Narrows Dam was erected to provide hydro-electric power for the Badin Works, Alcoa’s aluminum smelter, in 1917. The Town of Badin was built to house the smelter’s workers. The wheel is 10 feet in diameter and weighs 28,400 pounds. It powered the 36,000 horse power #1 generator at thet Narrows Dam powerhouse from 1988 to 2009. The function of a turbine runner is to convert the force of falling water delivered through the penstock pipes to rotating energy. Water rushing against the blades causes the runner to rotate like a pinwheel producing energy which is then utilized by the generator in producing electricity.

Carol Preisinger loves to visit Badin for the Best of Badin Festival. A teaching golf professional at the Kiawah Island Club on Kiawah, Island, SC., Carol has close ties to Badin. Her parents grew up here and both grandfathers worked for Alcoa. When Badin Museum Chairman, David Summerlin set up a contest to guess the weight of the newly installed water wheel, Carol bought 12 tickets. Using a zip code number, she won as the closest to the correct weight of 28,400 pounds. Carol’s father, George Preisinger grew up playing golf on the Badin course and as an adult he became a pro golfer. Carol has written a book , Golf’s Abundant Elements, chronicling her father’s life. “I applaud the community in its efforts to revitalize Badin,” she says. “It’s a charming, hidden historical gem in the state of North Carolina.”

September’s Best of Badin Festival is a big draw for old Badinites and others with family ties to this small town. Carol Preisinger, mentioned above, is a good example. Many others visit the town, making brief nostalgic stops. A couple from France visited the Cottage House recently. His father once owned a furniture store here and he brought his French wife to see the town with the French ties. Alcoans far and wide have fond memories of their working years here and the Museum’s membership list shows how wide Badin’s reach is. Bridget Huckabee Editor

October brings cooler weather, colorful leaves and grinning pumpkins. Stroll around our town, take a picnic lunch down to the lake or ride up Morrow Mountain as the leaves turn to red, orange and gold. Whatever the time of year there’s always plenty to do and see in and around Badin and Stanly County so let’s get started. Spend Friday evenings at the Pickin’ on the Porch at the Badin Inn. Oct 7 brings Jerry Zunino to the bandstand, Oct 14 hear Taylor Chandler & the CRS Band. Oct 21 welcomes Loose Change and Oct 28, brings you the Invaders Band. Monday Oct 31 don’t miss the Inn’s Fall Festival with Trick or Treat fun from 5 pm to 9 pm. All these events are open to the public. Dough Bro on Falls Road is now serving beer and wine. Take advantage of fall weather and enjoy the patio for lunch or dinner. Oct 29 at 4 pm is the café’s Fall Festival. Dress up the kids in their best Halloween costumes and come for games, music and lots of fun for everyone. Ready for a romantic adventure on our beautiful lake? On Friday Oct.7 or Saturday Oct.8, enjoy an easy guided kayak or canoe tour under the moon with a campfire, wine and hors d’oeuvres. Paddle out at sunset, paddle back by moonlight. Call God’s Country Outfitters or Twila’s Thrifts and Gifts to sign up. Twila’s Thrifts and Gifts has new inventory that includes Dunkin’ Donuts coffee at a great price. And check out the men’s Badin t-shirts and Badin caps. Twila’s food drive is on-going and really helps needy Badin families. Perishable food and goods are always needed. “A heartfelt thank you to all those who participate,” says Twila. At Badin Museum work is already underway on the Badin Centennial Souvenir Book. Check out the current center display to see the price of goods and services in the Badin of long ago. The Cottage House has new items every week, says owner Vanessa Mullinix. Stop in to browse, buy and chat. And don’t forget to check out the garden items in the back. Get a new hair do at Great Looks. Join the Sunshine Club. Attend a Better Badin or Town Council meeting and get to know the town’s movers and shakers. Enjoy our community. As Dorothy said, there’s no place like home

The Badin Villager is a free monthly newsletter available on the first of the month at the Badin Post Office, the Badin Town Hall, the Badin Library and West Badin Community Center. It is also published online at www.visitbadin.com. For more information contact info@visitbadin.com

Early this month you’ll see them all over downtown: the hard-working volunteers of Better Badin and the Badin Museum. There’s the mayor in a bucket truck hanging banners, and other stalwarts buzzing around the museum buildings, the town park and the library. They sweat in the heat, but never stop. The Firehouse Museum and the Badin Museum are power-washed. The sides of the Quadruplex Museum are rinsed with bleach to get rid of mildew. Flowerbeds are weeded, mulch spread and trees trimmed. Inside, the museum displays are spruced up and a new center display is created in the main museum. Named Badin in its Prime, the display features memorabilia from the 1920’s and the 1930’s when the population of the town reached 5,000. There are photographs, old invoices, and ads offering items that include a nice wool suit for $25. Photos of Falls Road show Model-T Fords, horse and buggies and pedestrians strolling along the sidewalk. To add to the town’s historic memorabilia, Alcoa is constructing a water wheel, or turbine runner, to be displayed on the village green across from the Town Hall. It is hoped it will be in place in time for the festival. This piece of public art will show an important element from the inside of the Narrows Dam. To generate hydropower, the Narrows Dam created a ‘head’ of height from which the water flows through a pipe (penstock) from Badin Lake to the turbine. The fast moving water pushes against the blades of the water wheel causing it to rotate. A vertical shaft connects it to the rotating assembly of the generator and transmits that mechanical energy for conversion to electricity. The water wheel on display was used in the Narrows Dam from 1960 to the early 2000’s when it was replaced with a new and improved version.

Visitors to Badin are always amazed at how such a small band of volunteers does so much for the town. From putting on a two-day festival that attracts thousands, to creating, and staffing three museums, to planting and watering a string of large flower pots along the main street, to picking up trash around town, this small but dedicated band deserves our thanks. Let’s repay them by taking pride in our own little plots and streets and parks. And when you meet a volunteer, stop and shake his or her hand and say, “Thank you.” Bridget Huckabee Editor

Badin Inn Events

The popular Pickin’ on the Porch continues every Friday night from 6:30 pm to 9 pm. This Friday, Phillip Nappier entertains. And check out the Thursday Night Fish Fry and Saturday night Karaoke. All these events are open to the public. Come ’sit a spell’ on the wide porches of the Inn overlooking the beautiful scenery of manicured fairways and rolling hills.

Better Badin Events

The Best of Badin Festival, now in its 17th year, continues to attract thousands of visitors. This two day festival is scheduled for September 16th and 17th. New this year is the Better Badin Golf Tournament scheduled for September 8, 2011.

Uwharrie Rentals Twila’s Thrifts and Gifts Shop on Falls Road, Badin has joined with Curt Dorsey and God’s Country Outfitters of Albemarle to form Uwharrie Lake Rentals to rent canoes and kayaks for use on the area’s lakes. Curt Dorsey is now a qualified River Guide providing tours of Badin Lake and Falls Reservoir for groups of 8 to 10 kayakers and canoeists. Dorsey’s leisurely 4 hour tours include information about the area’s history, the dams and the Hardaway site.

The Cottage House

Vanessa Mullinix, owner of The Cottage House announces that she is bringing in new items weekly. Located on Falls Road, the business adds an attractive element to the downtown block of Badin with its sidewalk rocking chairs, flower boxes and gaslights. Stop in to browse, buy and chat. Vanessa loves company. Great Looks Donna Johnson, Great Looks stylist, announced that she is hiring a nail specialist in December. The Falls Road beauty salon across from the Badin Museum will then offer full service hair and nail service.

The Sunshine Club Badin’s inter-denominational seniors group meets at 10:30 am on the fourth Tuesday of every month in the fellowship hall of the Badin Baptist Church. Bring a covered dish and one dollar.

Dough Bro Bistro Badin’s newest café, situated on Falls Road, is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 am to 9 pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 am to 10 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm when lunch is served family style. Catering and local food delivery is available. The café is owned and operated by Lisa Coone, a native of Aquadale and now a Badin resident. “We make all our own bread and use only fresh ingredients,” says Coone. “Come see us.”

The Badin Villager is a free monthly newsletter available on the first of the month at the Badin Post Office, the Badin Town Hall, the Badin Library and West Badin Community Center. It is also published online at www.visitbadin.com. For more information contact info@visitbadin.com

The seventeenth Best of Badin Festival is on track for September 16 and 17, 2011. Better Badin committees are working hard to put together Badin’s annual showcase of food, drink, arts and crafts and entertainment. From the street dance to the grand finale firework display, the festival in the past has drawn as many as 20,000 visitors over the two-day period of the annual event. Started in 1994 by David Summerlin as a one-day event, the festival got off to an inauspicious start. After weeks of preparation the big day arrived. Rain started in the early morning hours and continued throughout the day. By noon, the few vendors still open packed up and left. “We’ll try again next year,” said Summerlin. And from that day on the weather cooperated. Tied to the festival this year is a new event, the first annual golf tournament scheduled for Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 1:00 pm. Plans are for a shot gun tee off for 20 teams comprised of 4 players each. The opportunity for the tournament was presented to the Festival Committee by the new General Manager of the Badin Inn, Arthur Jeffords. Profits will benefit Better Badin.