Big Mill B&B has been chosen Inn of the Year by North Carolina Bed & Breakfast and Inns.  We are waving flags and tooting horns. This is a great honor – we are thrilled.

At the celebration dinner at King's Daughter Inn (in Durham) our outgoing president Frank Salvo of White Gate Inn (in Asheville), standing in for Ms. Paula Deen, presented the Inn of the Year award to Chloe Tuttle, innkeeper and owner of Big Mill Bed & Breakfast in Williamston, NC.

The President's Award went to Rachel Reid of Andon-Reid Inn (in Waynesville, NC).  It's pretty obvious — we had a good time at the festivities.

North Carolina Bed & Breakfast & Inns is a great organization and it just celebrated its 25th anniversary. If you see the NCBBI logo beside an inn's name, you know this inn has been inspected and is held to the highest standards. Big Mill Bed and Breakfast is proud to belong to this wonderful group.

(Photos by Chloe Tuttle of Big Mill B&B)

]]> http://chloesblog.bigmill.com/big-mill-bb-named-inn-of-the-year-by-ncbbi/feed/ 1 http://chloesblog.bigmill.com/hank-cochran-the-legend/ http://chloesblog.bigmill.com/hank-cochran-the-legend/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:17:38 +0000 Chloe http://chloesblog.bigmill.com/?p=1677

We sailed into Green Turtle Cay in the Abaco Islands in 1978 and I met Hank Cochran that day. Hank was lounging on the back of his Grand Banks 50, aptly named "The Legend."

Photo by Chloe Tuttle

Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran was born in Isola, Mississippi in 1935. Hank moved to Nashville in 1960, and with Harland Howard he wrote "I Fall to Pieces." Patsy Cline recorded it in November of 1960 and, as we know, it became a big hit.

Hank wrote many songs including "She's Not You," "Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me?" "Little Bitty Tear," "Why Can't He Be You?" and "Make the World Go Away."

Hank Cochran (left), Chloe Gurkin McHorney Tuttle (middle) and Captain Joe (right) 1979
(Photo by Joy Greyer)

Hank invited us to go fishing one Sunday afternoon – we didn't get back until Wednesday. But that was Hank. It was fun to watch his creative process – it would just happen. Someone would say something, or a thought would come to him. He wrote it down on anything handy, and soon it was a song. He told me heartache made writing easier. He surely knew how to do that.

  Hear no evil, See no Evil and Speak no Evil… photo of
Chloe Tuttle, Captain Joe, and Joy Greyer
(Photo by Hank Cochran using Joy's camera)

When I met Hank, I had no clue I was meeting such a character.  That same day I also met a wonderful woman Joy, who would became a cherished lifelong friend. We weathered many wet days that winter in the Bahamas, the guys played lots of Crazy Eights and Hearts. We took many trips to Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar.

Back then I was cleaning conch and making slaw.  Now I am an Innkeeper growing blueberries and making jam. What a great life, eh?

Some times when I am here on the farm that is now Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, my mind wanders back to my sailing days. I remember places I went but mostly the people I met. And Hank Cochran, The Legend, the Man…is high on that list.

The world lost Hank on July 15, 2010. He left behind a legacy in country music. We will miss you, Hank. And you made it to the Rolling Stone.