Last month, local residents were invited to review preliminary designs for a new waterfront park along Badin Lake and share their input and ideas for the 14 acre space adjacent to the swim area on Highway 740. Alcoa hired Site Solutions to create the master plan, pictured below, for the property planned for donation to the Town of Badin as part of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project Relicensing Settlement Agreement.  The Settlement is currently being delayed due to lack of approval by the Stanly County Commissioners.

Badin Waterfront Park Plan

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

Save these dates!

Sunday, November 27, 2011, at 3 pm Badin will start celebrating Christmas with the Singing Americans “Singing in the Season” at Badin Baptist Church as the sanctuary resounding with the songs of the season.

There will also be a tribute in memory of Don Carrick and Elvin Fisher, both charter members of the Singing Americans.

Organizers hope to fill the church and encourage Badin-ites to bring their friends and relatives for this kick-off to the season.

Katie’s Café and Dough Bro plan specials for that evening, and the Badin Inn Pub will be open for business, so be sure to check them out after the performance.

Monday, November 28, 2011, 6 pm will begin the start of the Old Fashioned Christmas celebration with the Badin Tree Lighting. Revelers are encouraged to wear period clothing from the early teens to the 50’s.

Badin Elementary School kindergarten class will sing as Santa and Mrs. Santa arrive. There’ll be treat bags for all the children as Santa empties his sack.

At 7 pm the 60 member North Stanly Middle School Choir will sing on the steps of the Badin Baptist Church.

Plans are for old cars and trucks from T models to the 50’s to line the street.

There’ll be horse drawn carriages offering rides, carolers on the street, and 5 stores open and offering refreshments.

Katie’s Café, Dough Bro and the Badin Inn Pub will all be open. This will be a festive community event not to be missed.

It’s good to see the activity at the former Alcoa Badin Works, now named the Badin Business Park. Let’s hope there’ll be more activity in the near future. And talking of activity, we encourage the community to turn out for Badin’s Old Fashioned Christmas celebration featured in the above article. Badin volunteers work hard at events like this and in these challenging times it’s good for the town to gather together to celebrate our spirit of community.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Bridget Huckabee

Editor

November…when morning frost chills the air; when the lake is left to the bass fishermen, a few intrepid kayakers and the gulls and the geese; when golfers don sweaters and walkers don gloves; when Thanksgiving feasts are planned; and when children start their Christmas wish lists.

In November the Badin Inn winterizes its porch and the music continues every Friday night with Pickin’ on the Porch. On November 4, 2011 enjoy the sounds of Eversole and Flame. November 11, 2011 brings Taylor Chandler and the CRS Band. The music plays from 6:30 pm to 10 pm.

Want to hear your friends sing or try a tune or two yourself? Saturday night is Karaoke night from 7 pm until 11 pm featuring KJ Miller.

The Badin Inn Pub is open to the public and the entertainment is free. Food and drink are available.

Dough Bro on Falls Road is now serving beer and wine. On warm days, enjoy sitting on the cozy patio next to the café.

Here’s another date to save! On Saturday, November 5, 2011, Twila’s Thrifts and Gifts will put on its second annual Fall Festival. Starting at 8 am, the store will feature local crafters selling a variety of items just right for that Christmas gift list. There’ll also be a good supply of candied apples, and Brenda’s cakes. New inventory 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 progressing on the Badin Centennial Souvenir Book. Stop by and 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.

Better Badin introduces a Valley  Cruces and Blowing Rock Art, Leaf, and Christmas Shopping  Crawl.   The event consist of round trip bus  transportation from Badin to Valley Cruces and Blowing Rock; overnight stay in  a downtown Blowing Rock Hotel with hearty continental breakfast; ticketed  guided tour of the newly opened $7,000,000 Blowing Rock Art and History Museum  including the non-public areas, and an optional walk through of two historic  Blowing Rock Churches. Enjoy Christmas shopping at the original Mast  General Store, the 44-Store Tanger Factory Outlet Mall and the famous Blowing  Rock Main Street.

The  Crawl will depart Badin at 7:30 am on Monday, October 24th and  return Tuesday, October 25th at approximately 6:00 pm.  Cost for the overnight trip is $109.00 per  person double occupancy.  For more  information, please contact Better Badin at 704-422-6778 or  704-322-6267. Seats are limited, please contact Better Badin soon.

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

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.”