Matthews During COVID-19: A Photoessay

Take a stroll through Matthews with photographer Claire Rodahaver. Claire captured the usually active downtown, now absent of people, the streetscape dotted with informative handmade signs. This is our current normal.

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“I hope this is a time when small business owners come together and support one another. We need to get through this. We must and we will! Thankful for the opportunity to live and work in Matthews the last year. It is truly an amazing gem of the Charlotte area. As a photographer, I hope I can use photography to share powerful stories and uplift people in this time of uncertainty. ”

— Claire Rodahaver

Claire Rodahaver is Matthews-based photographer, photojournalist, and educator.
Visit her website here.

Morning Minute: Tuesday, June 4, 2019

News About Town: The Town of Matthews is encouraging residents to Know Your No’s in the recycling bin. As more and more recycling is trashed due to contamination, it’s important to know what those contaminants are. What are the No’s? No tanglers (such as wires, hoses, etc.), no scrap metal, no plastic film (including bags, but some “film” can be recycled with bags at retail recycling locations like Target), no food (try composting?), no hazardous and medical waste (not only is it dangerous, there are actual people handling your recycling along the way), no textiles, no bagged recyclables (because the bags can’t be recycled and it makes more work for the people at the facility).

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News Around Town:  During tonight’s regular meeting, the County Board of Commissioners will vote on whether to adopt the amended budget. This budget will determine the county’s property tax rate for Matthews. If approved, the budget will take effect July 1, 2019. If you can’t make it but want to be in the know, the meetings are broadcast online. Meetings are held at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E 4th St, Charlotte, 28202.

One Fun Thing:  This Saturday, June 8 join Good Cup Coffee for the Father's Day pop-up at the Loyalist. Make a mixed 6-pack of beers from the cooler inside, then head outdoors for some locally-sourced handmade wares! Shop from 6 till 9 PM in the courtyard beside the market. Then go check out the car show in our parking lot with a cold coffee drink!

Morning Minute: Monday, June 3, 2019

News About Town: Matthews Police are looking for two men who recently stole nearly $900 in merchandise from Lowe's at Sycamore Commons. Both men are described as black males, approximately 6’00” tall, with medium to large builds. Security camera photos are available on the town website. The theft occurred on the heels of a recent cooperative sting between Matthews PD and Lowe's Security, where 14 people were charged and 21 cases were closed by netting members of an organized retail theft ring.  

The nearly finished Town 324 apartments.

News Around Town:  Town 324, developed by BrookChase Properties, is nearing completion, expanding the selection of apartments in downtown Matthews (the other downtown rental multifamily units are BrookChase's Matthews Lofts). Town 324 is located by Town Hall and consists of 24 " boutique, small scale apartment" units. Rezoning was approved in 2014 by current Commissioner John Urban. (Urban was not commissioner at the time of rezoning.)

One Fun Thing:  Spend summer break with the Matthews Library. Sign your family up online for the Summer Break read-along, log reading and activities throughout the summer, then earn badges and prizes (including a ticket to Carowinds!).

Saint David's Day: A Primer

Though it’s not in our Five Pieces of Beacon, we believe the more parties the better, especially if there’s food involved. So let's press pause on the Saint Paddy’s plans for a second, and add another celebration to the calendar.

I hadn’t heard of Saint David’s Day, or perhaps hadn’t realized it’s significance, until a cocktail with a roasted leek popped up in my Instagram feed. I’m unsure if it was the leek or the liquor, but suddenly I had to learn more about my new reason to celebrate on March 1. Enter Alistair Williams, part owner of The Portrait Gallery in downtown Matthews, and a local expert on all things Welsh. He gladly took a minute to give me the Saint David’s Day Cliff Notes.

David, a monk in the 6th Century AD, helped spread Christianity across the country and was later named the Patron Saint of Wales. It’s the equivalent of Saint Patrick for Ireland, Saint George for England, and Saint Andrew for Scotland. Just as Saint Patrick’s Day is a holiday in Ireland, so is Saint David’s Day in Wales.

What’s with the leeks, though? In a battle between the Saxons and the Welsh, it became difficult to tell which side the soldiers were fighting for. One observant monk started plucking leeks for the Welsh soldiers to wear, and the stinky allium later became a national symbol, typically tucked in buttonholes on Saint David's Day. Fortunately for our noses, over time the odoriferous vegetable has been replaced with another, less offensive flowering bulb, the daffodil.

But we know what's really important here at the Beacon, so let’s talk food. What do you eat for Saint David’s Day? Obviously anything with leeks. Alistair also quickly listed a handful of other items unfamiliar to my southern ears: Rarebit, with a Welsh accent, sounds a lot like rabbit, but rest assured it’s beer cheese and not Bugs. There’s also a lot of lamb on the menu, as well as crempog, the Welsh version of a pancake.

While the cocktails aren't listed anywhere in Wikipedia's Saint David's Day summary, we do have to talk about the cocktail that caught my eye: muddled roast leek, cachaça , hazelnut liqueur, with citrus. Sounds like if you drink a couple of those Saint David himself might speak to you.

Mark Frye: Alchemist of Love

They had endured innumerable crises and experiences; their love was a story for the ages. Harry and Carla Workman turned to Matthews jeweler Mark Frye to capture their constant faith and love in wearable form.

Photo courtesy Mark Frye

When long-time jeweler, Mark Frye, manager of Trade Street Jewelers (100 West John Street), was asked to create a one-of-a-kind necklace for the Workman family, last fall, he knew little about the back story and the long journey which was about to unfold right before his eyes.

His clients, Harry and Carla Workman of Mint Hill, had previously lived a 15-year family journey – starting with Carla taking on Harry’s three children at marriage, to Carla’s subsequent diagnosis with cancer. Then, four years ago, her mother was diagnosed with brain cancer (and passed).

The original design created by Harry Workman’s daughter.

They had endured innumerable crises and experiences; this was a story for the ages, said Harry, who had all along imagined an infinity symbol with an anchor as an indelible image reflecting their constant faith and love.

And, so, he asked his daughter to create such an image; they also toyed with getting matching tattoos on their ring fingers. Then, one day, last year, he got a tattoo of such an anchor on his forearm and went home to show his wife.

She said, “I’m not going to get a tattoo like that!” But, she had a thought: to create a likeness of that same image using pieces of both her mother’s jewelry and her own. Who better to ask this of but her beloved jeweler, Mark.

By using the images provided, Mark would make a three-dimensional piece of what was two dimensional. Together with a designer from Texas, who cast the piece, the result would allow “the full design with the breaks and wraps” which you can’t see on the flat image.

At points, Mark says, he and the Workmans were in touch so often that their conversations eclipsed those he’d usually have with his family or children. One month later, the final creation was born.

Photo courtesy Mark Frye

“I love the symbol of all of it,” said Carla. “It’s beautiful,” she said, adding that she wears it all the time. To secure the free-dangling hooks, Mark eventually put the three-dimensional piece on a solid shape of white gold so that the fragile end pieces wouldn’t break or get caught on clothing.

“The tattoo has become a story of our love story,” Harry said. “The emblem has become a family crest. [Now] Carla wears precious metal from the precious family. [Our symbol] is memorialized from this medallion that Mark made so beautifully.”

Although Mark is often asked to make custom pieces, this experience has touched his heart and cemented his relationship with the Workmans. “This was a unique experience,” he said. “This was different because it had a story that had deep sentiment to them - that was the significance.” Add in the request “coming from an already great customer,” and the result meant a lot to Mark, too. It is work which gives his talents and skills even greater meaning.

In the future, Harry doesn’t think that any more anchors will be created for family members, but he and Carla have their own design, forever. “It’s something really special between us,” said Carla. “That we’re always going to be bound together…in infinity.”

Kind of like their relationship with Mark.

Photo courtesy Harry Workman

Trade Street Jewelers
100 W John St, Matthews
(704) 321-7944

M - F 10 a.m. til 5 p.m.
Sa 10 a.m. til 4 p.m.

#Throwback Thursday: September 27, 2007

With permission, The Beacon is archiving past issues of Matthews Record (also called Matthews News and Record and The Matthews Record) articles online. Throwback Thursday articles will include relevant content still facing Matthews today. This story was originally published September 27, 2007 and was written by Janet Denk. Layout and graphics created by Jim Denk.

A trip from Library Lane

With talk of pedestrian-friendliness and traffic concerns all the rage this election year, The Matthews Record wants to help illustrate the simple act of walking to the post office to mail a letter. Not quite three blocks away, this simple act is wrought with frustration. Let’s take a walk.

1. From Library Lane, we walk to one of the most popular corners in downtown, S. Trade Street at W. Charles. Navigating three lanes of moving traffic and two parking lanes, the crosswalk is clearly marked. But try telling that to the cars dashing through downtown.

2. Arriving safely on the other side, we stroll along the building housing a law firm, a portrait shop, and a child’s consignment store. The landscape is generous, the sidewalk is not.

3. Squeezing through a narrow space between the building and the parked cars, we dead end into a couple of trash cans and a wrought iron rail. This requires stepping into traffic followed by a blind corner in order to cross Cotton Gin Alley.

4. The sidewalk picks up again until we reach the back side of the Matthews Post Office entrance.

5. The sidewalk stops abruptly, forcing us into the drop-off/drive through lane.

6. The sidewalk picks up again and, if we’re lucky, our letter can be mailed inside.

Wreaths around Matthews

Photo by Cyma Shapiro

Photo by Renee Garner

Photo by Renee Garner

Photo by Cyma Shapiro

Photo by Renee Garner

Photo by Renee Garner

Photo by Renee Garner

Photo by Renee Garner

Photo by Renee Garner

Photo by Cyma Shapiro

For several weeks the Town of Matthews has been festooned in holiday magic. Wreaths are a favorite sign of holiday cheer and can be seen everywhere from the Chamber’s Train Depot to wintry-themed windows on Trade Street.

According to Wikipedia, the word wreath originated in Old and Middle English, writha and wrethe respectively, roughly translating to band. Wreaths have a lengthy history of symbolism throughout many cultures. The decorative wreaths we see hanging around the holidays most likely evolved from the crowns (sometimes called diadems or coronets) of ancient rulers. More recently wreaths have come to symbolize renewal and the eternal cycle of seasons.

Take a virtual stroll through photos of some of our local favorites.

Morning Minute: Tuesday, December 18, 2018

News About Town: The Board of Commissioners voted this past Monday night to unanimously support a list of Legislative Priorities, which range from standard (“Government Closest to the People Governs Best” seems to appear annually) to those more specific to actions the Board has taken in the past year. One point is expanding methods for local funding and municipal school funding. The Board largely supports the 2019-20 NC League of Municipalities Legislative Goals, with exception to language in number 9: the ability to “seek legislation that supports adequate, fair school funding between state and county in all school systems across the state by repealing municipal authority to fund schools.” The Board does not support repealing their municipal authority to fund schools. The Board supported adding three points to the Legislative Agenda, including asking for reinstatement of Protest Petitions in zoning cases.

News Around Town: The recent closing of Cafe 157 on Trade Street has left a large building vacant in the downtown Matthews area. There is little info on what’s to come, but the building has been leased by Anthony Kearney, owner of Tilt on Trade and 204 North.

One Good Thing: Cotton Gin Printing and Graphics (located on Cotton Gin Alley) has #RedForEd items for a little while longer. Buy magnets and tee shirts to support your favorite educator online and then pick your order up in the Matthews shop. Our local economy and North Carolina teachers will be eternally grateful.

Morning Minute: October 24, 2018

News About Town:  During last night’s council meeting the Board looked at and discussed the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resource Advisory Committee’s recommended annual tourism grants. Recipients are Charlotte City Ballet, Matthews Athletic & Recreation Association, the Matthews Chamber, Matthews Kiwanis Club,  NC Youth Rugby, and Matthews Playhouse.  With half of the Chamber’s request granted, the committee spokesman explained the requested amount for the organization was not granted because the Chamber received funds from the town as a Departmental Operation line item in the fiscal year ‘19 budget. The Board requested reconsideration by the committee on their decision.

News Around Town: Love it or leave it, Nextdoor is tuned into the community at large. They’ve just opened the 2018 Neighborhood Favorites Survey and want to know what members think of area businesses. Categories include, but are not limited to restaurants, nail salons, florists, and auto mechanics, most of which have several Matthews options. Too bad there’s no option for “Matthews-centric Online Newspaper”.

One Fun Thing: Get those obliques working by belly dancing with Nayna tonight and every Wednesday at Rhythm Dance, 120 W Matthews Street in downtown Matthews. Nayna teaches the essentials (including footwork, figure 8s, shimmies, arm and hand movement) in this basics course that’s suitable for all levels.  7:30-8:30 PM, $20 per class or $60 for a four week session.