Posted By BethM on July 26, 2010

The eighth annual Todd community benefit concert featuring Doc Watson & Friends is set for Saturday, Aug. 21, from 3 to 7 PM. The Tillers and The Forget-Me-Nots will also be featured at the concert.

Tickets to the concert are $15,  $17 for credit card purchases. Children under 12 are admitted free. Only 1,500 tickets will be sold, that number being the capacity of Cook Memorial Park in the middle of Todd’s historic district.

Tickets are available at the following outlets:

• Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, Howard Street, Boone

• Ashe County Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, Jefferson Avenue, West Jefferson

• Mast General Store, King Street, Boone

• RiverGirl Fishing Company, Todd Railroad Grade Road, Todd

• Todd Mercantile & Bakery, Todd Railroad Grade Road, Todd

If any tickets are left by the 21st, they will be available at the gate. For more information, call 336-877-5401.

Doc’s concert will again be dedicated to the memory of James Parsons, who was part of music in Todd from its very beginnings in the 1990s. Although James is now gone, the James “Crow” Parsons Memorial Fund is being built to finance future summer concerts at Cook Park. A pickle jar in the Todd Mercantile Bakery collects change and dollars for the fund, and the pickle jar is passed around during the Saturday afternoon concerts to help the memorial fund grow. TCPO, the nonprofit community organization, also seeks larger contributions to permanently endow the fund to provide dependable financing for the music series that James Parsons helped bring to Todd.

But  the Memorial Fund, and James Parsons’ surviving family, benefit primarily from the sale of tickets for Doc’s concert. TCPO and the Todd community are forever grateful for Doc’s support and for his incomparable music.

This year’s Summer Music Series and other events at Cook Park are also supported by a grant from The Conservation Fund’s Creating New Economies Fund. In addition to the grant and ticket sales, sponsors have come forward, helping to underwrite some of the concert expense and leaving more for the memorial fund. Among this year’s sponsors are the West Jefferson TDA, local businesses, and several members of the Todd community.

Category: Events | Comments Off
Tags:

Posted By BethM on July 26, 2010

Madison County master musicians Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth will return to Cook Park on Saturday, July 31, for the last of the Todd Summer Music Series concerts.

Widely celebrated individually, these two are dynamite together. You don’t want to miss them!

Come to Walter and Annie Cook Memorial Park, in the middle of Todd’s Historic District, at 2 PM for a couple of hours of outstanding Appalachian music. Bring a chair or blanket and a friend.

Category: Events | Comments Off
Tags:

Posted By BethM on July 18, 2010

The not-so-worthless Americana band Worthless Son-in-Laws return to Todd this Saturday, July 24, for another rousing concert at Cook Park from 2 to 4 PM. Bring a chair or a blanket and a friend!

TCPO’s Summer Music Series, offering free Saturday-afternoon concerts through the end of July, is supported in part by a grant from The Conservation Fund’s Resourceful Communities Program, and by sponsoring groups like Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corp., the West Jefferson TDA, RiverGirl Fishing Co., Elkland Handwerke, and members of the Todd community.

Category: Events | Comments Off
Tags:

Posted By BethM on July 18, 2010

Cedar Creek Performing \”Fiddler\’s Anthem\” in Cook Park

It was an awesome afternoon in Todd. Thanks to Eric Ellis, David Johnson, and the rest of the band for coming up to Ashe County.

Category: Events | Comments Off
Tags:

Posted By Jim on April 5, 2010

This rendering shows the new Castle Ford bridge which will replace the existing low water structure. Construction could begin as soon as March 29.

Construction signs will be sprouting soon along Railroad Grade Road in anticipation of the start of work to replace the Castle Ford Bridge at Todd Island Park.

Last month, the North Carolina Department of Transportation awarded a $1.5 million contract to Dane Construction of Mooresville to replace the existing low water bridge. The existing bridge structure, built in 1966, will remain in place and carry traffic until the new bridge is completed, slated for Dec. 31, 2011.

The project has been on the books for nearly 10 years and was made possible by the infusion of federal funding through the Obama Administration’s economic recovery package. The NC DOT held a series of community meetings to gather input on the new bridge’s design. Unlike traditional new bridges, the structure will feature an 8-ft-wide pedestrian walkway on the north side, stamped concrete abutments, rust-colored guardrails and bridge rails.

While DOT has rented a portion of the Todd Island Park parking lot for use during construction, the park will remain open to the public during construction. DOT has agreed to build a temporary driveway access into the parking lot.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Jim on January 26, 2010

Softened by more than three inches of rain on Sunday night, a small section of Railroad Grade Road collapsed into the New River on Monday morning. The flooding incident drew mention in Tuesday’s edition of the Winston-Salem Journal. The DOT tells the Journal that the section was about 8 feet wide and 20 yards long. The incident occurred near the Todd Island Park, at the Panorama Drive turn off. Workers reinforced the roadway on Monday and it is again passable.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Jim on January 17, 2010

Two inches of rain caused the ice on the New River to break up and dam on Sunday morning. Within a few hours the ice dam broke and left behind tall stacks of ice along the banks.

The ice which has covered miles of the New River for the last 10 days broke free Sunday morning after two inches of rain overnight, causing some flooding along Railroad Grade Road. The ice was caught at the first low-water bridge below Todd until about 9:30 when the dam gave way. Water and millions of tons of ice heaved downstream, pushing the river out of its banks and slamming chunks of ice into everything in its path. The ice hit utility poles with such force that the electrical service was yanked from the roof of a house on the banks of the river. The ice then dammed at Castleford Road, causing the waters to rise more than 10 feet within a matter of minutes. The 10-acre Todd Island Park was submerged under several feet of muddy water as the ice and water piled up behind the bridge. Trees were pulled from the ground and wildlife scurried for higher ground. Owners of one home along the river scrambled to pull valuables from the lower floor of their home as the water rose higher.

But, almost as quickly as the water rose, the dam gave way from the weight of the ice and water around 11 a.m., and the river of ice and water rushed downstream, pulling trees, stumps and brush with it. The ice appeared to flow freely for several miles downstream and there were no reports of additional damming downstream. Huge sheets of ice were deposited along the banks of the river, some stacked more than 5 feet high.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Jim on January 11, 2010

The newly opened Museum of Ashe County History in Jefferson is now working on an HO-scale model of the Virginia Creeper. West Jefferson and Todd will be featured in this project and photographs are now being sought of Todd as it was during the railroad era in Todd. The Virginia-Carolina ran to Todd from 1915 to 1933 and the model aims to accurately illustrate Todd as it was in 1925.

The Todd Community Preservation Organization has a growing collection of photographs, but additional photographs are sought to help accurately build this model. If you have any photographs of Todd during this era, or know someone who does, please let us know.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Jim on January 8, 2010

In case you’ve missed it, the South Fork of the New River has frozen over for more than two miles along Railroad Grade Road. Due to the cold and high water levels, the ice has piled up and pushed ice over the Castle Ford bridge at Todd Island Park. A photo taken by Todd’s own professional photog Lynn Townsend was featured at raysweather.com. WSOC-TV in Charlotte broadcast a short piece on the frozen river Thursday. You can view the video here.

If you go check it out, please don’t walk on the river and be careful getting close to the river’s edge. There is still a strong current under the ice which can pull you under to an icy and watery grave! Even on the banks, the water is dammed up and pushed the water out of its banks in places, so you can end up slogging in ice water if you’re not careful!

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Jim on November 17, 2009

Todd Ruritan Club will hold the annual community tree lighting on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. in Walter and Annie Cook Memorial Park. Hot apple cider will be served. Those who attend are also encouraged to join in holiday caroling.

For a $5 contribution you can sponsor a light on the tree. All proceeds go to the Ruby A. Trivette Scholarship Fund. Each year, the fund provides a $1,000 scholarship for at least one student from the Todd community. You can download a contribution form here.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: