Melissa Hall, Straight Answer Ma'am
Q: I read the article about the 1701 Reynolda Road house being demolished. Was this the house used for a Playboy centerfold photo shoot many years ago? I remembered an article in the paper quoting the lady of the house saying they "even had the model posing on the dining room table."
T.E.
Answer: No, but you’ve got a good memory. The house you’re thinking of was, at the time, the home of Selwyn and Leigh Rose, at 1040 Arbor Road, and it's behind 1701 Reynolda. According to Journal articles from the time, June 1986, Donna Edmondson of Greensboro was having a photo shoot for her upcoming Playmate of the Month spread. Playboy talked with seven homeowners in Greensboro about using their houses and they all said no. Someone suggested contacting the Roses about using their house. Selwyn Rose was a prominent psychiatrist and Leigh Rose was active in arts and civic activities.
When the Playboy crew told Leigh Rose about the problem finding somewhere to shoot the photos, she said, “That’s ridiculous. I’d be delighted. I don’t mind at all. I’m really into the First Amendment. I’m certainly not going to be intimidated.”
The crew spent parts of Friday through Sunday shooting pictures at the house. On Sunday, the photography moved inside which led Leigh Rose to tell the reporter, “They had her on the dining room table"
After finishing the photo shoot at the Rose house, the crew went to California to do bedroom shots. In all, it took about a week to complete photography and it produced a 12-page spread in the November 1986 Playboy magazine. Edmondson was paid $15,000.
Edmondson was also selected 1987 Playmate of the Year. For Playmate of the Year, she won $100,000 and a new Corvette.
Q: Where did the term Indian summer originate? It means warm days in fall but do Native Americans have anything to do with the name?
J.L.
Answer: According to the National Weather Service: “The term 'Indian summer' is generally associated with a period of considerably above-normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions ushered in on a south or southwesterly breeze. Several references make note of the fact that a true Indian summer cannot occur until there has been a killing frost/freeze. Since frost and freezing temperatures generally work their way south through the fall, this would give credence to the possibility of several Indian Summers occurring in a fall, especially across the northern areas where frost/freezes usually come early.”
The term has been found as far back as 1778 in a letter from a Frenchman named St. John de Crevecoeur he wrote, “Sometimes the rain is followed by an interval of calm and warmth which is called the Indian Summer; its characteristics are a tranquil atmosphere and general smokiness. Up to this epoch the approaches of winter are doubtful; it arrives about the middle of November, although snows and brief freezes often occur long before that date.”
As to where the term comes from, one possibility is that Native Americans used the period as a hunting and/or harvest season. Another is that ships coming across the Indian Ocean during fall fair weather were loaded as full as possible. “Several ships actually had an "I.S." on their hull at the load level thought safe during the Indian Summer. Given the fact it has been centuries since the term first appeared, it will probably rest with its originators," according to NWS.
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