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By Jim Buice

For the Clemmons Courier

When you think of history in the village of Clemmons, the Hattie Butner Stagecoach always comes to mind.

After all, just a few years after Clemmons was incorporated as a municipality in 1986, the Wachovia Society permanently loaned the Hattie Butner (she was the wife of Edwin Clemmons, who was a great-grandson of Peter Clemmons, founder of Clemmons, and had a stagecoach business) to the village. Following a restoration made possible through donations to the Clemmons Historical Society, the Hattie Butner found a home in village hall.

However, a piece of living history was recognized last Thursday when the Clemmons Milling Company was officially honored with a historic marker.

Going to the mill, which is located on Hampton Road just south of U.S. 158, is like going back in time. It has served the community for over 100 years and maintains that classic look while providing all the needs for area farmers, gardeners and pet lovers.

The village implemented a historic marker program a couple of years ago, and Clemmons Mill was an obvious candidate to be on the list.

The marker provided this description: “Built in 1920 by L.C. Hobson and sold that year to J. Ezra Brewer, who opened the mill on January 1, 1921. He sold flour, horse feed, cornmeal, fertilizer and garden supplies. The Brewer family ran the meal until 1988 when it was sold. The mill employed German POWs in the 1940s and served as a gathering place for local farmers.”

I had hoped to make it for the ceremony but was out of town that day last week. However, it is worth stating publicly that this is a well-deserved recognition for such a local treasure. If you have never been there, you need to check it out.

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It’s the local summer concert season, but there’s a different vibe in 2025 with some major changes.

First, this doesn’t include Clemmons, which will again have “one big concert,” and the Summer Shindig 2025 will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Jerry Long Family YMCA featuring Knuckles Deep.

The band provided a preview on its Facebook page, saying: “Bringing rock, soul, country, blues, and always a party.” In addition to the music, there will be food trucks, plenty of activities for the kids and a fun night to celebrate community with the event, which is held in conjunction with the Y’s Volleyball BASH tournament.

Clemmons officials have expressed interest in adding more live entertainment in the future with the right venue, perhaps on the land adjacent to the Village Point Greenway, which is in the development stages.

Meanwhile, Lewisville had to cancel its first scheduled concert at Shallowford Square last week on Memorial Day, which was to feature the Embers and the annual Military Appreciation Day, because of the inclement weather.

So the first official concert in Lewisville on the calendar is now the Street Party & Food Truck Festival on Saturday, June 21, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with the Entertainers, a beach and R&B band, performing.

This year’s lineup is stout as usual, but the town decided to cut back on its schedule on concerts from 12 last year to eight in 2025.

Stacy Howard, the longtime special events director, said that town management expressed to her that they wanted to cut back as everything has gone up in the last couple of years. 

“This includes the cost for the band, sound and the law enforcement we hire for each event,” she said. “I was hoping to add a few more, but unfortunately that was not permitted this year.” 

And Bermuda Run has totally changed course, ending its partnership with the Davie County Arts Council after nearly 10 years with larger name performers — similar to Lewisville — and, as Mayor Mike Brannon explained, “pivoting instead to finding more local acts, a greater percentage of residents attending our concerts and leveraging our entertainment dollars more efficiently.”

In a monthly message sent out on Monday, Brannon provided more information “of shifting from our traditional concert series to a family-focused lineup of events designed to engage residents of all ages.”

The update also included announcing two June Events with Sunny Day Markets at the Town Green, 120 Kinderton Blvd., in Bermuda Run:

June 13: 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Food Truck Friday with vendors, kid’s activities and live music by The Gardners from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

June 28: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Food & Brews Festival with food trucks, breweries, live music, vendors, kids activities and more to come.

All of the local concerts provided by the towns are free.

• • •

Here’s just another example of the sad state of college athletics. When the basketball opponents of each ACC team were announced last week for the 2025-26 season, the bloated 18-team league couldn’t figure out a way for Wake Forest to have home games against both Duke and UNC (at least they’re playing N.C. State at home).

Remember when the Big Four was the heart and soul of the ACC, and there were also a handful of good regional rivalries? Now, the Deacons get to look forward to schools such as SMU from Texas and left-coast Stanford coming to Winston-Salem to play at LJVM Coliseum.

Even worse, the athletics communications department release online at godeacs.com had a headline stating: “Wake Forest to Host Compelling Conference Action.”

Sorry, but I had a hard time getting past “Compelling.” I can think of a lot of other words that might fit, but that wouldn’t be one of them. 

Anyway, I’m sure season-ticket holders for next year’s Wake Forest hoops and other Deacon fans are beyond excited to pony up their dollars for these “Atlantic Coast” Conference classics.