June 6, 2004
That old story that the folks in Habersham County, Georgia have put up a chain-link fence around the whole county just isn't true at all. I had a wonderful visit there recently and discovered a new favorite place to eat in Clarkesville. The Baron York
Cafe is located in the downtown area on the square, above the Mountain Gallery. There were three little tables on an outside upstairs porch, but it was an old chandelier that beckoned us in. Proprietor
Dea Irby was kind enough to find something for us to eat just fifteen minutes before closing and what a scrumptious find it was! Everybody gets homemade Baron Bread as an appetizer, but my husband fell in love with it so fast he just asked Dea to go on and bring out the rest of the loaf. The menu is simple, but elegant. There is a daily quiche and a daily soup. My spinach and ham quiche was absolutely wonderful. My husband's soup was homemade steak, mushroom, and onion, which he pronounced wonderful as well. We resisted the sinful desserts, but were so pleased when Habersham coffee arrived in an individual French coffee press. We've never known a restaurant to go to that much trouble before. We knew the coffee would be delicious because we use a French press at home. The story of the Baron York
Cafe is pretty good, too.
In the 1890's, Mr. Barron (spelled with two r's) built the Baron York building for his cousin,
Mr. York. The upstairs was Mr. York's office. He put in the first telephone in the area so that he could call his wife to tell her when he was coming home for lunch. The York home is the second white house on the right as you leave town on North 197. Other people thought his gadget was quite handy and tied into his line. Before you know it, Mr. York started the Standard Telephone Company, which later became Alltel.
In the 1960's, Mr. Freeland
bought the building and made the upstairs an apartment, the first dwelling on the square. He covered the hardwood floor with plywood and carpet and put in the kitchen appliances that Dea still uses today. The Baron York building was listed on the Historic Register, but was misspelled, using just one "r."
When Jerry and Monika Schulte bought the building in 2003, they made the choice to stay with the misspelling and name their international café, The Baron York Café. After three months of serious renovation, which included exposing and restoring the original heart pine flooring, the Schultes were looking for someone who would be interested in leasing the café. They were unaware that for six months Dea Irby had prayerfully searched downtown Clarkesville for a location to open a tearoom. A mutual friend put Dea in touch with the Schultes and so Dea's dream came true after all.
Dea had a business plan that included five essentials for her tearoom, besides great food and service. The first was that it was on the square; second, that it would have a bookcase with interesting books; third, that it would have a guest book; and fourth, that it would have a nice restroom. All of these essentials were accomplished by the Schultes before Dea came on the scene. On November 15, 2003, the doors opened for the Baron York Café, Dea Irby, proprietor.
Seating is limited, so you need to call Dea at (706) 248-0160 or e-mail her at
baronyorkcafe@alltel.net
if you want to do a Birthday Tea Party, a Bridal Tea, a T.A.T. (Tuesday Afternoon Tea), which is a full afternoon four-course tea on a Tuesday from 3:00 until 4:30 p.m., featuring tea savories and sweets with a variety of teas. Dea will also cater some of her elegant food. Or, you could drop in like we did and tell her you are famished and she will serve you an elegant tea. The Baron York Café is one of those little places that you savor, just like Jake 'n Effie's in St. Mary's, Georgia.
* * *
Kathy Hildebrand, the 7th Congressional District chair of the Bush-Cheney Campaign, has called with news of
www.georgiaforbush.us
. If you live in Paulding, Bartow, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Cherokee, or even Cobb County, you can go to this Web site and register yourself for the Bush-Cheney team. You will receive periodic e-mails with news of the campaign. If you wish, you can also ask others to join with you, but that is not a requirement. If you have a question, just e-mail
Kathy.Hildebrand@georgiaforbush.us
* * *
. Beth Morris has e-mailed me information about
www.cronescounsel.org
, which I found fascinating. The word "crone" has a negative connotation in this day in time, but it was not always that way. Eons ago "crone" used to denote a woman of wisdom and experience. This group is on to something very powerful, I believe, given the growing demographics of "women of a certain age." The Web site is interesting enough. I'm told there is a strong possibility there will be a Crones Counsel in Atlanta in 2006.
* * *
Well, my deer friends got the basket of impatiens and nipped off all of the hosta stalks, but there are still plenty of other blooms. Now is the time to hand prune your azalea bushes if they have gotten too large. If you prune them much later than June you will not get any blooms next Spring since azaleas flower on old growth. No one who is from the South prunes their azaleas with the buzz cutter. These beautiful bushes are not meant to be buzz cut into balls or blocks. Guess there is just no accounting for taste because a lot of folks do this ball and block stuff. Azaleas can be a little finicky; they do not like wet feet, nor do they like drought. You have to give them just the right amount of water. When they are well established, rainfall will usually do it. My deer friends do not bother the azaleas.
* * *
I've seen the new Harry Potter movie and it is terrific!! There were some really small children in the audience that will probably have nightmares about the werewolf though. I would not say this is a good movie for small children to see as there are a couple of scary places. In cases like this, my rule of thumb has always been: "What the eye doesn't see, the mind doesn't ponder!"
* * *
Hope all is well and thanks for reading.
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