​Most sixteen year olds are thinking about a weekend date or what to wear on Monday. But when Michaila Cowles was sixteen she was thinking business and she was not thinking small!
 
It doesn’t take long chatting with Michaila to know that she is goal and career driven. At 23 years old she’s already made a success of Huckleberry’s, a casual-dining restaurant, in downtown Tryon.
 
Michaila and her family moved to Polk County from New England for a lot of reasons and like a lot of area transplants…escaping the long and cold winters of New England and those occasional “nor’easters”  was one deciding factor. She entered Polk County High and graduated early at age 16. Michaila always knew she wanted to cook and even as a young girl was experimenting in her grandmother’s kitchen. She remembers one time choosing special spices based on the “pretty” color of the jar tops and enjoyed concocting a meatloaf and cinnamon dish that to this day she does NOT serve in her restaurant. That was Michaila’s start in the food business and she’s never looked back.

​One of Huckleberry’s unique touches is the placement of a spiral-bound notebook on each table. Each notebook, complete with attached ballpoint pen, is meant for customers to fill in the “life” of that table. It’s a great way to spend wait time reading comments from others and adding your own. Michaila saves all the filled notebooks. This author is thinking there’s a book coming out of those notebooks one day!

It’s not often one gets the opportunity to be around someone who has faced hardships most of us can’t even imagine. And then sit in awe as this person sparkles with enthusiasm when talking about the life he lives. It’s a life that Joseph sees as a challenging current situation that he has learned to enjoy with a positive outlook. “My life as a whole is quite good.”

​Joseph Letterio, known by lifelong friends and associates as Joseph Maimone, has just had his first book published. That’s a goal most would-be authors dream of but never see happen. Joseph has been beaming with pride ever since the book rolled off the printing press. The title might give you a hint of the sense of humor Joseph exudes. Musings of a Wannabe Renaissance Man is a collection of writings dating back to his tenth grade year, through his college days when he was struggling to find the new Joseph, and his current life experiences.
 
You should know that Joseph’s life turned upside down during his second semester of his freshman year at NC State University. He and some college buddies decided to try one more ski trail, a double black-diamond run at Snowshoe in West Virginia. Joseph, one who to this day doesn’t turn down a challenge, took on this trail and it was a bit more than his ski skills were ready for. He ran into a tree going 35 miles an hour and the end result left him a C5 quadriplegic. Life as he knew it could have ended right there. But for Joseph, he made this the beginning.

It was my lucky day to start my Foothills Faces journey at a bakery. I got to combine several of my favorite things in one short visit: meeting nice people, taking photos, and eating!
 
​Martha’s Amish Bakery and Sandwich Shoppe has been around since 2014. You might have visited before when it was known as Cool Mama’s Bakery.  
 
The mama is Martha Graber and her daughter, Freida Graber, own and run the bakery. They’re also the bakery chefs, the wait staff, and the dishwashers and handle all of that with precision and grace. Martha’s Amish Bakery is filled with wonderful smells of fresh-baked goods including muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls, and an amazing variety of breads. The coffee is good, too. It’s all good!
 
It was a busy morning with a steady stream of customers when I visited today. Some enjoyed their treats in the shop and others grabbed it to go. I’m thinking those taking it to go opened up their treats before making it out of the parking lot.
 
The bakery itself offers a warm and comfortable seating area surrounded with Amish-inspired décor. It’s the kind of place you’d feel welcome sitting around for ten minutes or an hour.
 
Martha said they started cooking and selling baked goods at the Saturday morning Columbus Farmer’s Market back in 2004 when they moved to Polk County. As the demand for their treats got to be too much for their home, they knew it was time to find a permanent place. Martha says, “It has been a process to get to this point. We’re really excited to be here and see the business grow.”
 
Martha and Freida moved to Polk County from Guthrie, Kentucky where Martha’s parents founded the first Amish community in that state back in 1958. There’s a large community of Amish living in Kentucky now but I can tell you for sure…I’m glad these two moved to Polk County.