&&A PUBLICATION OF THE RED & BLACK

OCTOBER 2011

REPTARObservations and oddities with

Bottles down, Athens. There’s other stuff to do around here.

It’s a yellow brick home in an All-American neighborhood and it sits empty.

[ a m p e r s a n d ]

If walls could talk.

23636

index

2212

14EDITOR’S NOTE............................................... 4

STaff aND cONTRIbuTORS.................. 4

ON ThE cOvER

Reptar.shares.the.ins.and.outs.of.their.band.while.on.tour...............................8

Students.share.what.to.do.when.drinking.isn’t.in.the.cards................................16

An.Oglethorpe.Avenue.home.remains.silent.for.over.two.decades.................28

SpIRITS

Tunes.for.the.walk.downtown...............5

Guide.to.Homebrew.............................5

Drink.and.join.the.(political).party.......6

This.fall’s.drink.recipes........................6

Walk.among.the.graves.........................7

EvERy mONTh

musicExplore.listening.to.musicians.past.and.flashy.outfits.of.Athens.bands............10

get lostWhen.midterms.are.too.much.hideaway.at.these.local.spots.............................12

cookingBecome.your.own.chocolatier.with.recipes.by.Amanda.Crouse.................14

artistTattoo.artist.Mark.Bray.shares.about.his.art.and.favorites................................21

fashionIts.fall.and.we’re.ready.to.celebrate....22

ON ThE cOvER

Graham Ulicny, of Reptar, provided some early morning entertainment during this month’s cover shoot in the streets of downtown Athens. Cover photos by Kristy Densmore

16

OCTOBER 2011 3

he fall air is slowly setting in, making us thankful for cooler temperatures and reminding us that yet another year is flying by. And as we get into the swing of the school

year, freshmen are finding their routines while seniors are faced with the reality of graduation.

This is my favorite time of year, not just because of the fashion or football, but because fall seems to bring everyone a little closer. The spirit of fall is unlike any other season, especially in Athens.

Driving down Milledge Avenue on a Friday evening and seeing everyone enjoying the sunset and cool breeze. Clutching a warm cup of coffee on the way to an early morning class. Shooting the breeze in good company with a cold beer in hand. Doesn’t get any better.

There’s nothing I love more than seeing a blue sky, then stepping outside wearing a cardigan to keep warm. Fall provides a sense of nostalgia while still bringing about the feeling of urgency to plan out your next life move.

So while we revel in the goodness of this wonderful time of year, look forward to the good times together.

See you next month.

Cheers,

our staff

Q: What’s the best Halloween costume you’ve ever dressed up in?

This month’s theme puts spirits on our brains. So we thought we would ask the staff a question. Here’s the answer.

RACHEL G. BOWERSEDITOR IN CHIEF

Answer: “I was Ron Burgundy? It was so hot. It was a bad choice.”

Rachel is a senior newspapers major

MEGAN SWANSONMANAGING EDITOR

Answer: “This one time, I was a bag of Red Hots. It was weird.”

Megan is a senior magazines major

MAURA FRIEDMANCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Answer: “In kindergarten, I was a unicorn. My paper mache head weighed 7 pounds.”

Maura is a junior magazines and political science major

AMANDA JONESDESIGN EDITOR

Answer: “When I was 1-year-old, I was a sack of potatoes.”

Amanda is a senior art education major

JESSICA ROBERTSCOOKING EDITOR

Answer: “I was an alien a couple years ago. That was fun, I guess.”

Jessica is a senior mass media arts and Spanish major

KRISTY DENSMOREPHOTO EDITOR

Answer: “I’m always a vampire.”

Kristy is a senior magazines and English major

EDITORIAL

PUBLISHER | HARRY MONTEVIDEOEDITOR IN CHIEF | RACHEL G. BOWERS

MANAGING EDITOR | MEGAN SWANSON DESIGN EDITOR | AMANDA JONES

PHOTO EDITOR | KRISTY DENSMOREFASHION EDITOR | TAYLOR HANDBERRY

ASST. FASHION EDITOR | MORGAN JOHNSON COOKING EDITOR | JESSICA ROBERTS

DESIGNERS | JAN-MICHAEL CART, LOGAN PORTER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS | JASON AXELROD, LYDIA FLETCHER, MAURA FRIEDMAN, SARAH GIARRATANA,

RAISA HABERSHAM, CHARLES HICKS, MEGAN INGALLS, SATYAM KASWALA, PATRICK MCGINN,

CRISSINDA PONDER,TIFFANY STEVENS, ZACK TAYLOR

PHOTOGRAPHERS | MICHAEL BARONE, ALLISON LOVE, AJ REYNOLDS

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER | MICHELLE NORRIS EDITORIAL ADVISER | ED MORALES

BUSINESS

OFFICE MANAGER | ERIN BEASLEY ASSISTANT OFFICE MANAGER | ALLY GERONIMO

CLEANING PERSON | MARY JONES

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR | NATALIE MCCLURE STUDENT AD MANAGER | SARAH OVERSTREET

ACCOUNT ExECUTIVES | CLAIRE BARRON, DANA COX, CLAIRE DRISCOLL, COREY JONES,

PATRICK KLIBANOFF, KEVIN MAXWELL, IVY ROBINSON, ERIC SILVER, STEPHANIE WRIGHT

PR LIAISON & DISTRIBUTIONCOORDINATOR | EMILY GOBER

AD ASSISTANTS | LAUREL HOLLAND, SARAH OLDAKER, JENNA VINES, HALEY WINTHER

PRODUCTION

ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER | JOSHUA TREY BARNETT

PRODUCTION STAFF | JENNIE CHIU CREATIVE ASSISTANT | PERRY BERNCREATIVE ASSISTANT | BORA SHEHU

Copyright 2011: No portioN of this magaziNe may be reproduCed without the writteN CoNseNt of the publisher. the red & blaCk reserves the right to refuse advertisiNg for aNy reasoN. the opiNioNs expressed by writers do Not NeCessarily refleCt the opiNioN of the red & blaCk or the uNiversity of georgia.

ampersaNd is the & is all thiNgs red & blaCk

OCTOBER 20114

Send us feedback! We want your input on our publication. Send an email to magazine@randb.com with thoughts, questions, comments or criticism.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

T

OCTOBER 2011 5

october

SPIRIT

hemostprevalentargumentIhearisthat“goodbeerisjusttooexpensive.”TothisIsay,“Makeityourself.”

Peoplesavemoneyonallsortsofthingsbydoingitthemselves—learninghowtofixtheirowncars,plumbing,computers,growtheirownfood,evenrolltheirowncigarettes.

Whynotmaketheirownadultbeverages?Ihavebeenbrewingmyownbeerforalittlemorethanthree

yearsnow.Whatstartedasanexperimentwithalittlethree-gallonhobbykithasturnedintoafive-fermenteroperation.

Duetothis,alotofmytimestartedbeingspentatoneofAthens’localhomebrewshops,BlockaderHomeBrewSupply.Theshop,ownedbyEvanSmith,specializesinthesaleofallthingsfermentable,andallthetoolsyouwillneed.

Owningahomebrewstore,Smithhasbeenprivytotheinsandoutsofhomebrewcommunity.

“Youhavepeoplefromallsectorsoflife,”Smithsaid.“Youhaveyoungpeople,oldpeople,alllevelsofincome.”

Smith,however,hasnoticedthatmosthomebrewerssharesomekeycharacteristics.

“Everyhomebrewerhasapassionfordrinkingbeerandacreativeedgetoexperiment,”hesaid.

TobrewerssuchasSmith,brewingisequallyaboutthedestinationandthejourney.

“It’sascienceexperimentyoucandrink,”Smithsaid.Morethanastory,however,it’saplaceoflearningand

meetingpeopleofsimilarinterest.DuringmygrowingassociationwiththeshopIhavenoticeditissomewhatofadojoofzymurgy(thepracticeorstudyoffermentation).

TheAthensLeagueofExtraordinaryZymurgists(A.L.E.Z.)isthelocalhomebrewclub.Throughthisclub,Ihavemetsomeamazingbrewerswhohavehelpedmepushmyselftobeabetterbrewer,notonlythroughsharingtricksofthetradebutalsojustthedesiretoalwaysshowoffyourbestwork.

Tome,beerissomuchmorethanjustapartyfavor—it’sanartisanship.WhenIgohomeattheendofthedayandpourbeerfrommyhomemadekegerator,Iknowthesuccess(orfailure)ofthatbeer’sflavorhasnearly100percenttodowithmeandmyabilities(orshortcomings)asahomebrewer.

CanyousaythesamethingaboutthatNattylightinyourfridge?

THERE IS NEVER AN EXCUSE TO DRINK BAD BEER

Drinking alcohol is definitely a common subject in songs that transcends genres. And it’s rock stars who have perhaps the greatest reputation for drinking heavily (in addition to partying and doing lots of drugs). Here’s a playlist that appeals to the highs and lows of drinking — all the tracks are performed by classic rock bands/singers. In true party spirit, hard, bluesy riffs and driving rhythms are standard for all the songs on this list. The lyrics take you through the night and all the way home, whether it is with or without a mate. Cheers!

— Jason Axelrod

1.KISS-COLD GIN

GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS-

I DRINK ALONE

DEF LEPPARD-HIGH N’ DRY (SATURDAY NIGHT)

2.

3.

AC/DC-HAVE A DRINK ON ME4.GUNS N’ ROSES-NIGHTRAIN

PAT TRAVERS-SNORTIN’ WHISKEY

VAN HALEN-TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME

5.6.

7.

SOUNDTRACKof the night

— EVAN SMITH, local brewer

Home beer brewing (in a nutshell)

1. GRAIN IS CRUSHED UP

TO GRIST

2. HOT WATER IS MIXED

WITH GRIST AND LET SIT

FOR 60 MINUTES

3. THE RUN OFF IS PUT

INTO A BOIL KETTLE AND

BOILED FOR 60-90 MIN.

4. HOPS ARE ADDED TO

DIFFERENT STAGES OF

BOIL

5. THE SUBSTANCE

(CALLED WORT AT THIS

POINT) IS COOLED

DOWN TO UNDER

APPROXIMATELY 70

DEGREES

6. WORT IS PUT IN A

FOOD GRADE PRESSURE

SEALED DEVICE

AND MIXED WITH

FERMENTATION

“It’s a science experiment you can drink.”

By Zack Taylor

Although Georgia has an open primary system (cheat sheet: that means you can vote in the pri-mary of either party no matter your registered political affiliation), not every one of you on cam-pus will participate in electing a Republican can-didate for president. This is a national trend — far fewer voters participate in primaries than gen-eral elections — so don’t take it personally, but it’s no reason to disengage with the political pro-cess.

Just like school dances, sporting events and family Thanksgivings, the Republican Nomination process can be made much more enjoyable with a little liquid lubrication. They didn’t teach you this in your Intro to American Government lecture, but here it is: The 2012 Republican Nomination Drinking Game.

Let’s redefine what they mean by “Grand Old Party.” So join me and take a drink every time:

• Rick Perry uses a folksy one-liner that only vaguely answers a question, such as “I’m actually for gun control — use both hands.” Make it a double if you catch a glimpse of the gun he carries at all times.

• Sarah Palin inexplicably shows up at a campaign stop, luring all media attention away from declared candidates like moths to a flame.

• Michelle Bachmann makes a face that would probably scare a small child or ani-mal. Make it a double every time she’s barely looking to the side of the camera.

• Fox News talks about the promise and merits of every candidate on the board — except for Ron Paul. Sorry, he’s not sorry that a truly small government means a small military too.

• Rick Perry attacks social security using provocative language such as “monstrous lie” or “Ponzi scheme.” Make it a double if you think he’s getting the elderly vote, because you obviously need it.

• Mitt Romney laughs and shrugs off the attacks of other candidates. Better to be amused than disheartened by all the theat-rics.

• Obama begins a speech or public com-ment with an exasperated sigh. He could probably use a shot too.

EPUBLICAN NOMINATION DRINKING

GAME

Every girl and guy needs the one drink that caters to their alcoholic taste for the month. As ampersand’s certified bartender, I have a few highball recipes that will keep your Halloween spirits alive.

— Compiled by Crissinda Ponder

A Killer Kool Aid for HimAlso called a Jim Jones, this drink is for 151 risk-takers. Kudos to your high tolerance.One Collins glass filled with ice½ ounce of Vodka — well or top shelf, your choice½ ounce Amaretto liqueur½ ounce Midori liqueur½ ounce Blackberry Brandy½ ounce of Bacardi® 151 RumFill rest of glass with cranberry juice

A Grateful Dead for HerA new twist on an old favorite. Test out this version of a Long Island with your girlfriends.One Collins glass filled with ice½ ounce of Vodka½ ounce of Gin½ ounce of Tequila½ ounce of Rum½ ounce of Triple SecAdd sour mix, but leave roomRoll the contents into a mixer glass and back into the Collins glassAdd a splash of Chambord® liqueurGarnish with a lemon wedge

And as always, drink responsibly.

HIS AND HERSPIRITS

.................................................... ...................

rBy Maura Friedman

wathens cem

eteries

OLD ATHENS CEMETERY STATS:OLDEST BURIAL: UNKNOWNOLDEST KNOWN BURIAL WITH HEADSTONE: CLEMENTINA GOLDING (1817)MOST RECENT BURIAL: CLARISSA EVANS (1888)MOST RECENT BURIAL WITH HEADSTONE: ROBERT HENRY LAMPKIN (1869)

Here lies AthensWonder why Old Athens Cemetery is still on campus? Or why it shares human body counts with Oconee Hill Cemetery? Or perhaps you want to know where you can get the best spot for you and your future spouse. Read on as I share my grave travel accounts.

By Raisa Habersham

Old Athens Cemetery (Jackson Street Cemetery)

Here lies Ann McDonald, wife of for-mer Georgia governor Charles McDonald. Details on her death are hazy, but it is known that she died while visiting her sister in Athens. McDonald’s neighbors in the cemetery include the Carlton family and two for-mer University presidents — Moses Waddel and Robert Finley. They are just a few of the 800 residents at Old Athens Cemetery, part of a reconstruc-tion project by the University libraries and the anthropology department.

Created in 1810, Old Athens Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in town. Since there was no deed for the cemetery, a gentlemen’s agreement allowed the land to be transferred from Athens to the University, according to Janine Duncan, campus planning coor-dinator at the University. Duncan says in years past, the cemetery had been at the root of a battle between the University, who wished to demolish the land, and the city of Athens. The ceme-tery remained due to its status as a his-torical fixture.

“You have to look at what was done previously with different genealogy groups,” Duncan says, whose primary focus is cemetery preservation and stone analysis. “You have to look at records for a burial service, and if there was a service there is a chance they were bur-ied here.”

Photo by Kristy Densmore

The project, which began in 2006, has made 30 to 35 repairs, including one on Ann McDonald’s headstone. The marble slab is a fine finishing for a woman who’s interned there since 1834.

Oconee Hill CemeteryOriginally owned by the University,

the cemetery was purchased by Athens in 1855, according to its website. Though the cemetery is only 156 years old, several chess piece headstones among the wooded hills make this a place you don’t want to be caught at night.

Like its predecessor, Oconee Hill is home to members of the University, governors and past congressional mem-bers of Georgia. The bodies bind these two cemeteries together. In 1897, a fire broke out and headstones had to be transferred to Old Athens, while others were lost in the rubble. Because of this, there is no accurate number on the amount of people laid to rest in Oconee Hill.

Though there is no accurate count of the number of bodies in Oconee Hill, it does have a huge African-American population interned. An 1858 town hall meeting decided Oconee Hill would be the official black burial grounds, Duncan says — a tidbit that proves no matter how creepy Oconee is, it’s still rooted in the richness that is Athens.

The One-Stop-Shop for all things VERA!

Come in today to view the new

winter collection.

We now have Vera Bradley!

Call or e-mail orders to simplysouthernath@att.net

706-546-8054706-923-5110

1720 Epps Bridge Pkwy., Ste. 115, Athens, GA103 Harmony Crossing, Ste. 1, Eatonton, GA

SimplySouthern~Athens SimplySouthern~LakeOconee23388

Andrew: Oh my goodness. Um, well, I saw a billboard sign for a Victory motorcycles dealership, and Victory motorcycles are really awesome. And I’m at the driver’s wheel, just kind of cruisin’ through the desert right now and there are like — I don’t know if you’ve ever spent any time in Arizona — but there are these gigantic kind of mountainous hills just kind of sticking out of the desert. But we’re coming back to Phoenix and I would really like to get one of those motorcycles and ramp off of one of these mountains and then land back on another one. Like a totally different mountain. I think that would be just about the coolest thing you could ever do. They’re probably about, let’s see, maybe 20 to 30 miles apart, but that would be really fun.

things toknow about4

REPTAR

What’s the most exciting thing about playing outside of Athens?

Ryan Engleberger, bassWilliam Kennedy, keysGraham Ulicny, guitar/vocalsAndrew McFarland, drums[

Ryan: Well, the most exciting thing for me about playing outside of Athens is that I suffer from a very mild form of dementia, which involves me getting lost all the time — very, very often, at least three times a day. Sometimes multiple times in the venue. So it gets exciting when I’m not in Athens because then not only am I imagining that I’ve never met these people but I actually have never met these people. And so I don’t even know what to ask them to help get me back. That can get very exciting, when you’re wandering around in a place you don’t know at all, completely lost.

William: Imagine — you are in a Siberian greenhouse orbiting the second moon of Jupiter and the artificial clouds just erupted with Gak or slime, multicolored slime in very small microscopic mini spheres showering your body. That’s good.

Graham: Oh wow. I would have to say ... a summation of every orgasm you’ve ever had in your life with everyone you’ve ever loved in your life.

Ryan: Alien abduction notwithstanding, experiences will be encountered that will be more foreign ... more intense ... more intimate and more jubilant than any others which you ever may experience. That’s all I got right now.

Andrew: Oh, I knew this was coming. Very prickly, but not so hot that it’s too hot, and breaking off to the point where existence is non-existent and where humidity becomes intertwined with the asshole god of the desert.

How would you describe the “Reptar experience” in one sentence?

William: Shirley Temple.

Graham: Jello shots.

Ryan: That’s a tough question, I’m not gonna lie, because I know Andrew and I both like bourbon and ginger ale, but sometimes I like vodka tonics too. I like to have a lot of drinks before we play shows. It’s a pretty solid gameplan.

Andrew: I like to take blowjob shots. It’s where you get alcohol and then you put whipped cream on it. And someone lies down — I typically like to do them off Ryan — and you put the shot glass on their crotch, and you have to put your hands behind your back and bend down and grab the shot glass with your mouth and take the shot. And it’s called a blowjob shot because the whipped cream typically gets, you know, everywhere. That really gets me amped.

What’s your favorite before-show drink?

What’s the craziest thing you hope to do on tour?

spirited tunes

— Compiled by Jessica Roberts

ATHENS CORN MAZEAt Miller Family Farms

Open September 30th - October 31st

Tuesday: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Friday: 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Saturday: 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM

Sunday: 1:00PM - 10:00 PM

23620

706.389.0404www.athenscornmaze.com

1035 Cleveland Rd.Bogart, GA 30622

(1 Mile from the Georgia Square Mall)

23625

Daily until 7pm

With Halloween creeping around the corner, we figured it was time to take a look at a few local bands that treat fashion just as seriously as their music — or not thatseriously at all.

wardrobe malfunction?

KITE TO THE MOONSOUND LIKE Futurebirds, Drivin-n-Cryin, David Bowie

DRESS LIKE Whatever Athens music virtuoso Timi Conley can dream up. They perform with the Tiger Girlz of Athens, a talented acrobatic trio, and he’s also been known to dress up as Ziggy Stardust himself when he’s covered Bowie at the Georgia Theatre. He’s the master of ceremonies for their next big show below — surely not to be missed.

NEXT BIG SHOW The Wild Rumpus Athens Halloween Parade, Oct. 29

REPTARSOUND LIKE Talking Heads, Hot Chip, Girl Talk

DRESS LIKE All of your favorite Nickelodeon mascots from 1991-2000 (and Tinkie Winkie from Teletubbies). The band’s name actu-ally comes from the title bestowed to keys player William Kennedy’s imaginatively festooned cruiser bike. Also be prepared to possibly don Asian breath-ing masks and inflatable balloon animals if you attend one of the band’s legendary shows.

NEXT BIG SHOW Deep Roots Festival in Milledgeville, Oct. 22

OF MONTREALSOUND LIKE Animal Collective, M83, a really sexed-up version of Casper and the Cookies

DRESS LIKE Here’s a list of props/costumes acquired for their Skeletal Lampings tour a few years back (via SOMA Magazine): Four ready-made cowboy costumes, a giant foam rock, 100 cans of “Great Stuff ” foaming sealant, a Centaur costume and naturally one 300 pound steel gallows on wheels. He’s basically an indie rock fashionista.

NEXT BIG SHOW The 40 Watt Club, Oct. 29

SOUND LIKE B-52s, Apples in Stereo, Flaming Lips

DRESS LIKE A macabre cast of vagabond circus performers just looking for someone to accept them. As you can see in the picture featured to the right, they will basically wear whatever make-up (boys included) and outfits that will shock you to attention. Guitarist Jason NeSmith was formerly a member of our next band, Of Montreal.

NEXT BIG SHOW The 40 Watt Club, Oct. 14

Courtesy of Casper and the Cookies

— Patrick McGinn

CASPER AND THE COOKIES

23611Athens’ coolest, best-made, and largest boot selection.

“It’s been proven through history, that women’s a mystery.” - Popeye

DowntownClayton St.

Seeing dead people may be a rare thing, but hearing them is disarming-ly common. We hear them in cars, in

clubs and arenas and especially when alone. Their presence is preserved in full, and it’s preserved through music.

There is something particularly eerie about listening to the ghost voices of dead musicians. Their bodies are long gone, yet their emotions and personalities are still there, eternally etched in sound. Somehow, we still have access to their spirits.

Last month, for instance, marked the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s landmark release, “Nevermind.” Kurt Cobain, armed

with his guttural caterwaul, still sounds like he’s stuck inside his own songs. To listen to “Nevermind” is to hear the sounds of someone’s inner demons literally escaping the body — an appropriately sinister plea-sure for the upcoming sinister holiday.

Each remaining month this year marks an anniversary or loss of an iconic musician who has left indelible marks on our musical landscape and cultural consciousness. In the spirit of this autumn season, which itself is preoccupied with death, here are those who have similarly triumphed through art despite the bleakness of their untimely passing.

Elliott Smith

George Harrison

Vic Chesnutt

Oct. 21 marks the eighth anniversary of the death of influential singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, who was 34 when he died. Smith’s music, with its characteristically spiraling chords, complex pop melodies and stark lyricism, evokes the isolation of the gray Pacific Northwest where he was based. As his hushed voice drifts above “Rose Parade,” one can almost envision these songs as emerging from breaths rendered visible by the surrounding cold air.

On Nov. 29, 2001, George Harrison left the material world, as he might say, at age 58. A decade after his passing, the legendary Beatle’s poignant songs of deep spiritual yearning, especially “My Sweet Lord,” with its signature, blissful slide guitars that seem to nearly reach the higher worlds he meditates upon, maintain their joyful quality that celebrates more than it bemoans. His voice channeled a sense of inner peace despite its ever-present wistfulness. This tension was at the heart of his music, characteristic of someone who understood death as simply another stage in the eternal journey of the soul.

[

Christmas day is the two-year anniversary of the death of beloved Athens singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt. Chesnutt, who was 45 when he died, moved to Athens in the mid-1980s and released his debut album, “Little,” in 1990 with help of Michael Stipe. His strikingly honest, poetic songs were colored with dark humor, ruminations on mortality and the inescapable, internal struggle of living. He delivered his idiosyncratic, haunting brand of folk rock with creaky, uniquely phrased vocals that celebrated the sound of words, as if to fully articulate the pain behind their meanings.

“I don’t need stone altars to help me hedge my bet against the looming darkness,” Chesnutt sings in “It Is What It Is.” Indeed, the darkness may be looming. But luckily for us, we still have a light, flickering with each note. ]

— Satyam Kaswala

23644

OCTOBER 201112

LOSTGET Not every Athenian takes advantage of all the Classic City has to

offer. Get rid of the déja vu feeling and go ahead and get lost!

Even if you’re no Picasso, there’s no reason to limit your artistic hori-zons. Grab a buddy and hit downtown art studio ARTinis, which offers group painting classes for all skill levels five days a week. Every day the students are taught how to paint a dif-ferent work of art. The paintings differ greatly from class to class, so make sure to check out the online calendar to pick your favor-ite and reserve a spot. Your artistic ability doesn’t matter; the step-by-step instructions make it easy to follow every stroke. If you get lost or have a question, trust me, you’re not alone. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun, and drinks are available for purchase on site. You can buy beer or wine and bring snacks. Lessons are reasonably priced given that every-thing you’ll need for the class is provided. Most of the paintings are done on canvas, although some les-sons include working on wine glasses or other objects. Of course you could always just go out and buy a nice picture, but where’s the fun in that? The true satisfaction comes in knowing that you created the work of art yourself.

ARTinis Art LoungeUsually Tuesday through

Saturday 7 p.m.$35 flat fee

$25 Open Studio feewww.artinisartlounge.com

Photo by Allison Love

If you’re looking for something especial-ly off-the-wall, try a trapeze or fabrics class at Canopy Studio. The class sessions usually run for about seven weeks, and drop-in classes aren’t recommended because the trapeze technique requires a level of learned skill. The trapezes are adjustable and mats cover the floor, so as long as you follow instructions, you should stay relative-ly safe. Lessons range from beginner to advanced, and if you decide that trapeze is your calling, the repertory company is also an option. The “aerial arts” are definitely an out-of-the-ordinary route to artistic expression.

Canopy StudiosClasses vary

$10 - $17 per class(current session ends Oct. 23)

Word of Mouth, the monthly open poetry readings at the Globe, is definitely the time to spill your poetic soul. Arrive early to grab a glass of wine or beer and head up the stairs to the upper room before it gets too crowded. Upon arrival, attendees can sign their names on a sheet of paper in the order they want to present their work. After a few people speak, the featured reader will read his or her poetry. The Word of Mouth regu-lars are incredibly welcoming, and judgment is one form of expression you’re not going to see while you’re there. The poems can range from funny to heart-wrenching to anything in between. Bring a friend (or two), buy a drink (or two) and express yourself Word of Mouth is free and you’ll definitely have something to talk about on the way home.

Word of Mouth

First Wed. of every month8 p.m. at The Globe (Oct. 5)

» If you are an artist, or group classes just aren’t your thing, ARTinis also offers Open Studio during the day. All the art supplies are still provided, minus the step-by-step instruction and struc-tured format. Just grab an easel and start painting to your heart’s content. Private group sessions are also avail-able for birthday parties, etc.

Photo by AJ Reynolds

— Megan Ingalls

23615

The Dogg Pound 1660 W. Broad St. Athens, GA 30606

706-850-3545

Open Monday - Thursday:

11 AM - 8 PMFriday - Saturday:

11 AM - 3 AM

FULL LINE CATERING SERVICE

• Delicious Hot Dogs!• Jumbo Wings!• Fast, Friendly Service!• Buy 4 Get 1 FREE Every

Wednesday!• Friday is “Lady’s Day” -

Lady’s get a FREE Cookie with Every Hot Dog!

• Monday Night Football - 50 Wings for $37.50 (Vintage Whole)

STUDENT SPECIAL TUESDAYS

Free Small Fry and Soda with Purchase of an Entree

4 PM - 8 PM

Amanda’s chocolates can also be found at the downtown location of Jittery Joe’s and Community Boutique. Photos above by Allison Love. Opposite page: photos by Michael Barone.

it’s all about thechocolate

What are your secret weapons?

Someone that likes to eat ugly chocolate is good because they can clean up for you. I always have food-grade all-natural cocoa butter in case my chocolate is seizing up and it needs more fat. That can save you if you have a batch of chocolate that’s not melting or is too stiff.

What shouldn’t be covered in chocolate?

I don’t really have anything like that right now – I’m all about the chocolate. I’m not snobby. If somebody finds something that works, I’m into it. I tried to put some salt in a peanut butter thing that I was doing once and it was really disgusting.

• Low humidity and heat are important when making chocolate at home — a temperature of about 68 degrees is ideal.

• Making chocolates is a time-consuming process, and patience is key. Chocolate needs to be tempered to maintain its glossy shine and to

prevent seizing up or burning.

• Don’t use store-bought, mass-produced chocolate. Well-known brands are usually full of wax and preservatives and won’t taste as nice as the better-quality alternatives, which can be found at speciality stores or online.

Amanda Crouse knows chocolate.

So well, in fact, that she’s made a living out of it. “I just took to it, and I was really good at it from the very beginning,” she said. What began as a wholesale operation working out of Go Bar during late nights is now a brick-and-mortar reality. Her Tracy Street store, Little Cuckoo Chocolates, specializes in gourmet chocolates, coffee and European-style sandwiches and snacks. It’s really her chocolates that are drawing the attention, showcasing unusual flavor combinations such as whiskey with chili oil and red wine with dark chocolate.

We approached Amanda to get some of her chocolate-making tips and tricks, and she gave us some basic advice for at-home chocolatiers.

— Jessica Roberts

According to AmAndA

tips

In the spirit of our October issue, Amanda has given us a couple of recipes featuring Jägermeister and chocolate. Try them out the next time you’re craving something sweet with a minty, alcoholic kick.

Almond-stuffed figs with Jägermeister ganache:

16 oz. chopped semi-sweet chocolate1 cup heavy whipping cream1 Tbsp unsalted butter2 oz. Jägermeister (one shot is equal to 1 oz. of alcohol)AlmondsDried Figs

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream over medium-low heat (never walk away from cream!) until the edges of the cream bubble slightly. Lift the pan and swirl the cream. Return to heat and repeat 3 times. 2. Measure the chopped chocolate into a heat-resistant bowl.3. Remove cream from heat and let sit for 60 seconds.4. Pour the heated cream over the chopped chocolate and tap the bowl until chocolate is covered.5. Let sit 30 seconds. Stir with spatula until all chocolate chunks are melted.6. After all the chocolate is melted and mixed into the cream, add butter until it is melted and mixed in. Then add the liquor and whisk for a moment until all blended up. 7. Put some almonds in a pan and roast them over medium low heat until they begin to smell toasty. 8. Stuff each fig with a roasted almond and dip in warm ganache. Cool in fridge or eat immediately.

Jägermeister truffles:

Jägermeister ganacheCocoa powder

1. Cover the ganache mixture with cellophane or wax paper. Press the cellophane down into the top of the mixture to prevent condensation from dripping into the ganache. Let set for 3 to 8 hours. 2. Use a spoon to scoop portions (if the ganache is too firm let it sit out until it’s soft enough) and roll them into balls. 3. Put cocoa powder in a bowl or plate. Place each truffle ball into the bowl and cover it with cocoa powder.

If you’re having trouble rolling the truffles without them melting all over you, put some cocoa powder on your hands first to help them stay intact.

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Ashley Sinclair attends a Redcoat flag line practice, one of the many ways she finds community.Photo by Allison Love.

OCTOBER 2011 17

Five students say no to the fix that has downtown packed on Friday nights.

Bodies packed in a crowded tunnel waiting to get in, music rever-berating from the D.J. perched overhead in a tree, the excitement pal-pable and catching through the growing crowd.

For the 3000-plus people that attended August’s Phi Slam party put on by University students, even with the dancing, screaming and vibrant costumes all confined to a clearing between Pineview, Milledge Place and the University’s women’s soccer complex, one thing was curiously absent for Athens — booze.

Phi Slam, comprised of a group of people who have hosted alco-hol-free parties ever-expanding in size for two years, tweet out their invitations a few weeks in advance. On the given day, thousands of people show up for uninhibited dancing while completely and totally sober.

Though Phi Slam is unique in its size, it serves as a symptom of something bigger at a school that was nationally ranked the second-largest party school in the nation in 2011 by the Princeton Review — a growing community of people who abstain from drinking alcohol.

FOR FAITH

To ignore the fact that people abstain from alcohol for faith-based reasons would be ignoring the elephant in the church, mosque or temple.

University senior and mass media arts major Kamran Mohammed said he does not drink primarily because of his religious beliefs as a Muslim, but also because he made a decision not to based on his own experiences as a college student.

Always encouraged to question his beliefs, Mohammed said he faced the same challenges to grow like other college students, but still decided against drinking.

“I just feel like it’s not beneficial — it doesn’t offer a real benefit. People always use the excuse, ‘Well, I do it to have fun.’ But you really can have fun without drinking,” he said. “I feel like I’ve had the most real con-versations, the best times of my life are what I remember well.”

And though he abstains from alcohol, Mohammed’s face lights up under his mop of shaggy brown hair when he talks about Athens music. A scene that Mohammed never hesitates to engage in, even if bands plays at a bar.

“I go to bars and venues where there is music. I know it’s funny when I go to bars, because there’s that sense of detachment from that entire experience because I’m not engaged in it on that level of being buzzed or whatever,” he said. “But I still enjoy the music, the night-life. I feel like it’s possible to enjoy all of that without having to drink.”

Mohammed also said he disagreed with the culture of drinking and the chaos of the downtown scene when people are out of control.

“You go to a place to eat at 2 a.m. downtown and you see people peeing everywhere and belligerence and so many guys just wanting to

start fights for no reason,” he said. “What’s the point of all that stuff? It’s stupid.”

Mohammed said he does not mind when his friends drink casual-ly, that there’s not much difference at a “chill bar” between himself and the person having a beer.

But he said when things get out of control he would rather be elsewhere.

Collin Montgomery, a junior from LaGrange, also steers clear of the chaotic parts of downtown Athens and finds his logic to avoid alcohol based in the scripture upholding his Christian faith.

“The Bible tells us that we are to obey authorities, and it also says, ‘do not get drunk,’” he said. “I’m not 21, which is the main reason I don’t drink now and when I do turn 21, will I have a drink? Sure, every now and then, but never to the point of drunkenness.”

When asked to cite scripture to support his decision, Montgomery does not miss a beat, citing off Romans 13 and Galatians 5 which for-bid drunkenness or “uncontrolled drinking.”

But even with his Biblical knowledge, he takes a quiet stance on condemning those who do not share his beliefs.

“We have to come at the issue, not with condemnation or judg-ment, but with love,” he said. “Because the Bible says that we are not to judge anyone outside the church. And even inside the church, peo-

ple who are going away from their faith and getting in to the down-town scene, as they do, we’re sup-posed to approach them one on one — as the Bible says.”

Montgomery said he also feels the divide between drinkers and non-drinkers might stem from a lack of tolerance.

“I think a large part of the divide between ‘oh you drink’ and ‘you don’t drink’ is that many of us as Christians think that drinking is this humongous problem,” he said. “Oh if you drink than you’re clearly on the wrong path, that’s the worst thing you can do. And that’s not the way we need to view it, yes it is a prob-lem ... but so are may other things.”

Mormon graduate student Jenny Johnson, studying math education, also looks to God to support her

belief in not drinking alcohol.Like Mohammed, she’s of age but still abstains from drinking

and like Montgomery, she believes in the scriptures — but as a Mormon student, Johnson also believes in her church’s living prophets.

“So I think the way that God works is he gives commandments to prophets, like he gave Moses the ten commandments,” she said. “And that was for him to tell everybody so that they knew how to live and didn’t have to deal with consequences of poor choices. Like, it was this recipe for happy — living a happy life. “

Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, received what Jenny refers to as the “word of wisdom” or commandments that state what members of their church should consume or not consume for a healthy lifestyle — including abstaining from alcohol completely.

“People always use the excuse, ‘Well I do it to

have fun,’ but you really can have

fun without drinking.”

[ ]

(Clockwise from top left): Megan Tierny, a chemistry and English major, Jenny Johnson, a math education major, and Collin Montgomery, a marketing major.Photos by Allison Love.

experiences challenged and reaf-firmed her beliefs.

She said that though her faith was the main reason, watching her friends deal with the consequences of intoxication reaffirmed those beliefs.

“I had a friend call me last night at 3 in the morning who needed a ride home and she was in a situation where she couldn’t make certain decisions because she was intoxicat-ed,” Johnson said. “She felt unsafe because she had a loss of judgment and because of that and she couldn’t drive herself home. I’m not trapped in those situations because I don’t drink and I feel like that makes me freer in that sense.”

FOR SELF

Some people may describe soph-omore Ashley Sinclair as busy — a member of Redcoats on flag-line and Alpha Gamma Delta, she seeks com-munity in different places.

But even in her Pan-Hellenic sorority, Sinclair said friends and sisters are open and accepting of her decision not to drink.

“There’s a lot of people who respect your decision if you decide not to drink,” Sinclair said. “I didn’t think that there were a lot of people

at UGA who don’t drink, but then I’ve met a lot of people and that kind of surprised me.”

Sinclair said she thinks the University has a party school repu-tation — something not unique to many schools of this size — but that being the second-best party school in the nation is not all negative.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. I think that last year, when we were number one, it was a bad thing because there was a lot more cops out and a lot more people getting arrested,” she said. “I don’t mind it, I don’t think it’s a bad thing and I know that a lot of colleges are labeled that way anyway.”

Junior chemistry and English major Megan Tierny disagrees.

“I disapprove of rankings, because a lot of research shows that a lot of rankings are done by people with interests who do not serve the ranking well, so they’re not unbi-ased,” Tierny said. “And I certainly don’t remember being asked any-thing about my partying habits, so I didn’t contribute to the ranking and I’m not represented in it.”

She joked later in her high-pitched voice full of laughter, “Let me climb a little higher on my soap-box.”

According to the Princeton

23645

Kamran Mohammed, a mass media arts major.Photo by Allison Love.

Review, 122,000 students were polled national-ly to determine the party school rankings through their website, though none of their rankings research methods are affiliated with the University.

Tierny, a dedicated gamer who enjoys watching movies and going to socials with her co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, said she also feels it does not matter whether or not students drink, as long as they do it responsi-bly.

“I’m a big believer in personal responsibili-ty and accountability, so I would like to say — like I say about smoking — that I don’t care what you do, welcome to America, it’s a great country,” she said. “It’s just unfortunate that people in this country seem to have less con-trol than they should. And when they’re out of control, like people are when they’re smashed, they tend to do stupid things that harm other people, so that’s when I disapprove.”

On this point however, Sinclair disagrees.“For me, a lot of people that I know who

don’t drink typically have a better GPA. I know a lot of people who you know, came here after high school and did really badly their first or second semester as a freshman,” she said. “I know that I’ve kept up my GPA. I’m not saying that everyone who drinks is going to fail out of school or anything like that, but I think that it definitely does affect it and affect your work ethic.”

Sinclair emphasized, however, that abstain-

ing from alcohol is a personal choice.“If you want to [drink], you can, just be

responsible,” she said. “And if you don’t want to, there’s a lot of people who can support you with that who do drink or don’t drink. I think the most important thing is to be responsible.”

COMMUNTY

The question remains — does it matter if more members of the University community are sober?

Does it matter the guy walking down Milledge Avenue plastered in neon duct tape is not as hammered as bystanders think he is? Or that the person busting it will remember that night better than anyone else on the dance floor?

That’s up to University students, because interlaced between folks at socials, on down-town trips, at pint night, in the middle of the dance floor or with their girls on a night out are completely sober students seeking the same thing everyone else in college is looking for — community and acceptance.

And among the nearly 35,000 students passing through their time at the University, there are a growing number of people such as Mohammed, Montgomery, Johnson, Sinclair and Tierny, who may remember their time here with just a little more clarity.

And while differing in beliefs and activities, they are definitely not alone.

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artistof the monthBy Charles Hicks

I had a chance to hang out with Mark Bray at his shop, American Classic Tattoo and Body Piercing. We sat back in black leather work chairs and talked about the shop, his recent obsession with all things Rod Stewart and lots and lots of ink.

What was your first experience with tattoos?I had a great-grandfather who was tat-tooed circa World War II with some horrible, shaggy-lookin’ things. I believe they were naval tattoos. I can’t be 100 percent certain, because by the time I saw them, they were blobby, black-gray masses. And I suspected he had more, but I never saw him with his shirt off. But I just remember seeing a nice, warm familiar blob on the top of his forearm. I knew that I liked it. My later experiences were with my mother. My mother was very young, and in the early ‘80s, she used to date a fellow that was a biker, and then it sort of really clicked with me as far as the fact that those were tattoos, and I knew what they were about. I was thrown out of classes before for doodling too much in grade school and stuff like that. This is just sort of where it’s taken me.

What advice would you give someone before getting a tattoo?First and foremost, come in with an idea. If your idea is not a complete idea, that’s totally okay, but be willing to try to work with another person who’s try-ing to pick your brain, but definitely can’t read your mind. Be open to sug-gestion, and do your best to resign a lit-tle bit of control to your tattoo artist, because their only job is to give you something that looks way better than anything you ever thought you’d get.

If you had to spend the night with one celebrity who would it be?Louis C.K. hands down.

Who’s Louis C.K.?He’s an awesome awesome comedian. He co-wrote and directed Pootie Tang. He’s also a phenomenally funny sort of

bitter, angry, resentful, jaded, hardened comedian who has a no-bullshit look at what life is. And the way he discusses his everyday problems is what makes him fascinating. [Mark’s fellow tattoo artist, Brian Kindamo said, “Way to skirt around getting in trouble with your wife.”]

If you had a superpower, what would your superpower be? You know, I’d like to say read minds, because it would make my job that much easier, but you don’t always want to know what everybody thinks. How about mind control? Then you could get everything you ever wanted. I don’t know. Maybe mind reading and/or bending. I’ll take that.

Who’s on your iPod right now?I have been in a heavy regime of classic ’70s rock lately. Which is something I was never really into so much before. I’ve been completely busting out the old Van Halen, Thin Lizzy, and a whole lot of Rod Stewart. But not like Rod Stewart’s old classic American song-book, but like Rod Stewart and the Faces and when he was with Ronnie Wood before Ronnie Wood went to the Stones.

What’s the most bizarre tattoo you’ve ever put on someone?I’m recently psyched most by a C-3PO tattoo that I did. A girl came in and just said that she wanted a C-3PO tattoo and kind of gave me a lot of room to run with it. So we ended up with the classic posture with the arms out and an awkward looking C-3PO with his most classic phrasing, “We’re doomed.” Big as hell on a girl’s forearm.

{Photo by Kristy Densmore

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Athens’ own bartenders are sporting the clothes of Flirt Fashions and George Gibson’s this month. Get a taste of what to wear and buy this season for a night out.

Special thanks to Bad Manor, Allgood Lounge, Casa Mia and DePalma’s for providing locations.

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Aaron, Bad ManorHometown: Athens, Ga.Drink of choice: Jameson and ginger

OCTOBER 201124

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OCTOBER 2011 25

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still silentAfter 24 years, a family’s yellow house sits quietly

Photo by Kristy Densmore

By Maura Friedman & Tiffany Stevens

A cracked sidewalk leads up to the muted yellow house, situated unsus-pectingly behind over-grown shrubberies that separate the corner lot from heavily trafficked

Oglethorpe Avenue. White lace curtains drape from the dirty second story windows, giving the impression a passerby could still glimpse an occupant peering down from between the fabric. Above the off-white front door, a seemingly hand-painted tile mosaic of a three-masted ship sails to an unknown location behind two commanding columns.

Aside from the feigned motion of the nautical decoration, neighbors have rarely observed any disturbance permeating the stillness at the Sutton home.

Even in death, Glenn and Rachel Sutton are private. And the family they left behind keeps up that legacy.

“I’d just as soon not get involved in that again. There’s nothing to be gained from it,” said William Sutton, the son of the two University professors who were murdered in 1987. “It was a shock when I came to Athens and I saw what was our house, our home, on the front page of not only the Athens Banner Herald but also the Atlanta Journal Constitution.”

The murder of the Oglethorpe Avenue residents was jarring to their son as well as the quiet community where the Suttons resided.

“That’s the only thing I ever remember happening in the neighborhood, so it was a real shock,” said Dorothy Duncan, a hair-stylist at Element Salon, who grew up in the Suttons’ neighborhood. “It was a quiet, all-American neighborhood. It was a neighbor-hood full of kids. It was one of those neigh-borhoods where you rode your bike every-where.”

Everywhere except the Sutton plot of land. That area was off-limits, as both Suttons preferred to keep to themselves.

“It was really strange. You didn’t go around their house or their yard or that whole vacant lot that they owned,” Duncan said. “My mother told us don’t go near the house or that block.”

Kids who did venture that way were turned away.

In a close-knit community of long-time residents where neighbors today still know one anothers’ names, the isolation of the Sutton family was somewhat of an anomaly.

“It’s like they weren’t even part of the neighborhood,” Duncan said.

There was one day, though, when the Suttons brought the neighborhood together.

Dark Discoveries

On an early Saturday morning in late April, police responded to the calls of con-cerned neighbors who felt something might be wrong at the Sutton house, according to

a Red & Black report. Glenn and Rachel Sutton were found with aggravated stab wounds, wrapped together in a roll of car-pet.

“It [seemed] like a lot of blood in the house ... it was just an ugly, horrific crime the way he killed them,” Duncan said. “But he killed more people.”

It would be months before a suspect was apprehended. The turn in the case came on another Saturday in mid-August, when police discovered the hacked bodies of three women outside the Carrs Hill home of Sally and Helen Nathanson. One victim’s night-shirt was pulled around her waist.

When police found Sally Nathanson’s car outside of a Moreland Avenue address, Clinton Bankston, 16, opened the door.

“I remember the little boy who did it,” Duncan said. “It seemed like he was related to someone who did [the Sutton’s] yard work, maybe. I’m not sure.”

It was a murder case complicated by the eccentricities of the murderer. Bankston, who later plead insanity during his trial, originally told police that Chris Ward, a per-son eventually proven not to exist, was pri-marily responsible for the murders. Bankston’s “Chris” was blamed not only for the murders, but for the sexual assault of two of the victims.

Later in the police investigation, as Bankston shifted between mental extremes — sometimes admitting guilt and other times denying blame — he would talk about the murders of the “old people” and give police the information necessary to find a hatchet, bloody shirt and diploma bearing Rachel Sutton’s name behind a Salvation Army building.

Chris Ward “existed for [Bankston] to tell his mother what he had been doing or where he had received something,” Everett Kuglar, a member of the state Forensics Services Team, told The Red & Black in a May 13, 1988 article.

Bankston spent his 17th birthday in court. He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms for the murders of five people, his trial and verdict punctuated by his own unsettling laughter.

The Sutton house has lain relatively quiet ever since.

Lasting Impressions

In life, Glenn and Rachel Sutton led quiet, active lives dedicated to academics. They were more connected to their careers than to their immediate community.

“They were very, very private people,” Duncan said. “I lived there for like 16 years right behind them and I never met them personally.”

Glenn Sutton joined the finance depart-ment at the University’s College of Business Administration in 1938. He left temporarily when President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed him to the U.S. Tariff Commission, and came back to the Suttons’

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University after serving as a Naval commander in World War II. Rachel Sutton served as a professor in the College of Education’s elementary education department for 39 years before retiring with an emeri-tus title. Her long service is still remembered with the Rachel Sibley Sutton Scholarship, honoring her “dis-tinguished career and leadership in elementary educa-tion,” according to The College of Education website.

The couple was survived by their son William, an only child.

“When he was living there we never saw him,” said Jim Cleveland, a salesman for Motion Industries.

And though Sutton has kept his parents’ home in relative repair ever since he returned to Athens at the time of their murder, he has turned down any recogni-tion that might bring back up the history of that loca-tion.

Preserved as a relic of its time, the house and its history has become a source of questions the family wants to be done with.

“I really didn’t want to get involved again,” Sutton said, declining further interview. “I don’t want any more.”

That history, however, has not died with age, but instead lingers over the neighborhood as a legend in its own right.

Stories about the murders in Oglethorpe Avenue’s yellow brick house have been passed down from house owner to house owner over the years, in keeping with the communal nature of the neighborhood.

“I was living in Forest Heights [at the time of the murders],” said Jeff Peacock, an employee of Peacock Electric. “But the Ross’, the people who lived here before, told us about it. And they had it in the papers years ago. They said [Bankston] looked like Michael Jackson. Had the clothes, dressed like him and every-thing.”

As the tale is passed down orally from family mem-ber to family member, threads of fact are woven in with fiction, and the Sutton murders become the stuff of suburban legend.

“I heard about it from my parents,” said Justin Duncan, owner of Southern floor Covering Company and Dorothy Duncan’s son. “I think the brother owns it now.”

Justin Duncan, like many others in the neighbor-hood, not only believe a brother, rather than the Suttons’ son, to be the owner of the unoccupied house, but mix details of the Sutton murders with tales of other murders. Most neigh-bors said Bankston was liv-ing secretly in the Sutton’s basement prior to the mur-der.

“You hear so many sto-ries, you don’t know what is true,” Duncan said.

But stories that are used to fuel ghost stories now have roots in a neighbor-hood terrified by true events.

“Everybody was nervous about it for a while,” Cleveland said. “I wasn’t living here at the time but I was worried about my parents.”

That sense of unease still pervades the neighbor-hood.

“We don’t go out there. Every once in a while we

will see a light, but we try to avoid it,” he said. Athens Clarke County court records specific to Bankston’s trial fail to provide insight. When ampersand reporters

requested the documents, court officials were unable to find them in the archives.

And so, the house, with an overgrown and dying lawn and abandoned front, is left mostly to speculation and silence.

“I still don’t really know to this day what happened to the house after the mur-der,” Dorothy Duncan said.

Silence Still

Neighbors say they have seen individuals keeping up the yard or house, but for the most part the house stays empty.

“It looks like a house just sitting there ... but it

hasn’t grown older, so somebody has to be taking care of it,” Duncan said.

“About two or three months ago I saw yellow tape up, I think they might be working in the house,” Duncan said, though the sight of familiar yellow tape at first made her fearful another crime had been commit-ted. “But it said ‘Warning,’ so [it] might be warning tape for lead paint and asbestos.” According to Athens-Clarke County Tax Assessors and Appraisal Office records, a permit was issued for exterior repairs in 2010.

Aside from that unusual occurrence, the house has been largely frozen in time. But though the house may have been quiet, talk in the neighborhood about the Suttons and the events surrounding them has not been.

“We always wondered who was living in the house, what they were going to do in the house,” Duncan said.

And in the midst of all of these questions, nearly 25 years after their murders, silence still pervades at the Sutton home.

“We always wondered who

was living in the house”

Photo by Kristy Densmore

[ ]OCTOBER 201130

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