(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(music fading) - Just ahead on "Carolina Impact".

- More than 120 years of North Carolina aviation all in one place.

I'm Jeff Sonier, we'll give you a sneak peek at the planes that made history when they flew.

Now getting ready for their future on the ground here in Charlotte.

- Plus it's a gathering place created specifically for University of South Carolina alumni.

Find out why it's drawing people to Charlotte, and we'll explore how a local company uses ice to create magnificent sculptures.

"Carolina Impact" starts right now.

(upbeat music) Good evening, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett, North Carolina's first in flight aviation history starts with the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, but that's not where it ends.

World War II pilots flew here.

Military missiles were built here.

Astronauts grew up here, and now Carolina impacts Jeff Sonier and videographer Max Arnell take us behind the scenes at the New Charlotte Museum where North Carolina's Aviation past, present, and future come together.

- Yeah, present day aviation is something you can see (plane rumbling) and hear at the end of this busy Charlotte runway, not too far from the Sullenberger Aviation Museum, where they're also preparing for takeoff, you know, tray tables up, seat backs in their full upright and locked position.

Only the sullenberger takeoff actually feels more like a time machine.

- [Narrator 2] The world's fastest plane, the jet propelled P80 shooting star is revealed by the Army Air Forces.

- [Jeff] These old news reels are from 1945 and 1946.

- [Narrator 2] Now they will go through battle formation tests.

(planes rumbling) - There were a lot of 'em.

The, the P80s are not as common.

(plane rumbling) This was one of the first jet fighters.

- [Jeff] Matthew Hefner, showing us today, this early Navy version of the P80, known as the TV1.

That his crew from Warbirds Restoration has been working on for months here at the Charlotte Airport, inside an historic hangar that's even older than the airplane is.

(plane rumbling) Scraping and taping and sanding near the landing gear.

(tool whirring) Removing decades of baked on paint before polishing this old plane.

(tool whirring) Until you can see your reflection in the now shiny silver sheet metal.

- You gotta get all the paint off, get it sanded down, get all the scuffs and scratches over the years, as much as possible out to try to make it look good again.

Bringing these back to close to original as possible is what we strive for.

(tool whirring) - So the wire wheel helps us get these curved hard to reach areas and then you come behind it with the sander to even it out and it, so what you do.

(tool whirring) - [Jeff] Molly Kenyon is normally a collection specialist with the Sullenberger Aviation Museum, but for now, just hand her the sander and stand back.

- [Molly] Every day is a surprise.

I never thought I'd be doing this, but I find it extremely rewarding and luckily we have a good team of workers here who are helping us get it done.

And I think it's really special that everyone here working on this plane will have a special tie to this aircraft.

(gentle music) - [Jeff] At the other end here of what used to be Charlotte's Aviation Museum pilot Brian Rosenstein already has a special tie to this yellow steerman training plane from World War II that he's working on.

- I own one of these that I fly regularly.

I just flew it yesterday.

I do flight instruction with it and teach people how to fly these airplanes.

(plane rumbling) - [Jeff] What's it like to fly?

- It is pure joy because it's open cockpit.

It kind of connects you with the sensation of flying that you may not get from any other type of airplane.

Building, assembling, disassembling, restoring, fixing these airplanes since I was a teenager.

- [Jeff] Rosenstein says he still puts 200 hours a year on his plane.

Sometimes with those old World War II pilots coming along for the ride.

- I had a guy who learned in a steerman and then went on to fly B17s.

He came to fly with me, he was 96 years old and had not flown an airplane since the war and he asked if he could take the stick and I said absolutely.

He flew my airplane just like he was 20 years old again, it was amazing.

And this is our history and this is a very rich part of our history.

(soft music) - Well, it's a lot of fun to get to see an old airplane, and help to try to preserve it.

- [Jeff] For former Air Force Pilot Gary Lovan, this old airplane is more than just a museum exhibit.

- Well, I was in this particular squadron from 1980 to 1983 and I knew Bud Warfield, his name is on the side of the airplane.

We flew a lot of different missions in this airplane.

Mostly air to ground, air to air combat too.

You know, you're getting old when all the airplanes you ever flew or in a museum too.

(Jeff laughing) (soft music) - These are amazing pieces of technology, but it's the people that worked on those planes.

It's the people that designed those planes.

It's the people that flew those planes that really bring them to life.

- [Jeff] VP of Collections, Katie Swaringen gives us a rare closeup look at the main plane attraction here at the new Sullenberger Museum.

The not so old airplane that everyone wants to see.

The US Airways Miracle on The Hudson plane.

(machine rumbling) Waiting in the wings without its wings for more than a year until the slow move here into this huge new museum hangar on the edge of the airport runway.

(plane rumbling) where it used to fly between Charlotte and New York before flight 1549's Miracle Landing instead in the chilly waters off Manhattan.

- [Radio] It's 1529, we can get it for you.

Do you want to try to land 1913?

- [Pilot] We're unable, we may end up in the Hudson.

- To see it come outta storage and for my team to actually be able to get our hands on it.

You have the wow factor of the plane of course.

- [Jeff] But Swaringen adds that after the wow of Miracle on the Hudson comes the why?

- What makes it a special museum story is really the humanity.

It is those personal stories from the 155 people that were on that aircraft.

But it's also what that story meant to the world.

You have a feel good story where everyone survived.

You can put yourself in their shoes.

(gentle music) - Yeah, like right up in one of those windows is where I was staring out at the engine on the way down.

- [Katie] You can feel what they were feeling.

- That feeling of hope is a wonderful kind of feeling to have.

It's a feeling I felt when we were in the life rafts and seeing the ferry boats coming.

- [Katie] What is their experience 15 years later?

What did this event mean to them?

- Yeah, 2024 is the 15th anniversary of the Miracle on the Hudson.

That once in a lifetime landing by Sully Sullenberger and at the Aviation Museum here in Charlotte named after Sully.

Well, they're getting ready to remember and to celebrate and maybe to inspire that next generation North Carolina Aviation, Amy.

- Thank you so much, Jeff.

We've got more on what you'll find inside Charlottes Sullenberger Aviation Museum, including a fly through tour of what's old and what's new at our website, pbscharlotte.org.

Well, have you heard the phrase, Charlotte, South Carolina.

That's the nickname used by many University of South Carolina alumni living in the Queen City.

There are over 25,000 of them here.

"Carolina Impacts", USC alum, Dara Khaalid, and videographer Marcellus Jones.

Show us how a local bar is not only a Gamecock hub for socializing, but networking and outreach as well.

(transition whooshing) - [Dara] It's a familiar scene for University of South Carolina alumni.

White rally towels flailing in the air and the song "Sandstorm" blasting through the speakers.

For many, it reminds them of moments in Columbia, South Carolina, like this... - USC, USC, USC, USC!

- [Dara] Or even this, when they were surrounded by other fans just as excited for a game as they were.

(upbeat music) At The Horseshoe in Charlotte, that passion lives on.

- Nothing better just to see all the South Carolina fans gathered together in Charlotte and cheer on the Gamecocks.

- We're all here for one purpose.

- [Dara] The moment you step into the bar on Mint Street, it's clear that this is a space created specifically for South Carolina fans.

You're immediately greeted with anti-Clemson shirts to remind you of the longstanding rivalry.

There's a glowing neon basketball goal with the Gamecock logo scattered all over it and plenty of coozies, stickers, and towels to go around.

- It's a great atmosphere.

There's a lot going on.

A lot of Gamecocks, you know, everyone's willing to participate in the chance, you know, just throw a "Game" and someone will inevitably say "Cocks".

- [Dara] The Horseshoe opened in 2022 named after a central area on the university's campus in Columbia called The Horseshoe.

The idea came after Flight CLT closed in 2019, leaving alumni without an official gathering place on game days.

- I told him, 'cause I used to work at the other bar, I will build you guys a bar.

Just gimme a few years, obviously can't happen overnight.

So we started looking, going around with some real estate agents, seeing what was available.

- [Dara] Owner James Korpela isn't a USC alumnus.

However, after witnessing the infectious team spirit in Charlotte throughout the years, he became a fan and wanted to make sure alumni not only had a place to watch the games together, but had a place that felt like home.

- [James] I personally stand up at the front greet everybody most of the time.

It makes me happy when you stand there and you hear these people, families that say, oh, we came from an hour and a half away.

Oh we actually came from Columbia 'cause we didn't have tickets to the game.

- [Dara] Creating The Horseshoe wasn't a process that Korpela did alone.

He worked side by side with a man who's been a fan since his very first South Carolina game.

- At seven years old, I had the opportunity via George Rogers who won the Heisman Trophy for us to be on the football field.

And when you hear one crowd yell, "Game" another side yell "Cocks", Game Cocks.

When you hear that chant, if the hair in your arm's not standing up, then you're not human.

- [Dara] As a decades long fan, James Wolf has continuously shown his love for the Gamecocks.

First, as a child attending sporting events.

Then as a student graduating from the school in 2005 and more recently serving for the past 15 years as president of the Charlotte chapters of the Gamecock Club and the USC Alumni Association.

- Like anything in life you get out of it what you put into it.

One of our mottos is "forever to thee" that means being a South Carolina Gamecock is not for four years, it's for a lifetime.

- [Dara] With The Horseshoe being the official home for the Charlotte Gamecock Club, the bar is used for charitable events like Christmas with Cocky, networking opportunities that get alumni hired, and it helps fund scholarships.

- The better The Horseshoe does, the better we do because a portion of those proceeds will go back to our local scholarship fund, which now over the past 10 years has started from a small amount to now over six figures.

- [Dara] The impact of that money can go a long way, especially for students here in the Charlotte area.

According to the university, it receives 2000 applications a year from our local high school students.

And in the same way that Charlotte fuels the economic growth of USC by providing students, the favor is returned.

When alumni move to Charlotte and begin working.

Research shows, the Queen City is the number three destination for alumni.

After Columbia and Greenville, South Carolina, - We decided to move here, found jobs here, and hopefully find a house soon.

- [Dara] There's some notable alumni living in Charlotte like Morgan Romano, former Miss USA and Humpy Wheeler, former president of the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

But there are just two people out of the 25,000 plus alumni that call this area home.

- We both grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina and so we knew we wanted to be, you know, in a town that was like a little bit bigger.

I feel like it's great knowing that we have a lot of other Gamecock fans in town.

Game!

- Cocks!

- [Dara] So regardless of what year they graduated, the sport they're watching or who they're making connections with.

USC alumni will always have a piece of South Carolina and the Tar Hill state at The Horseshoe for Carolina Impact, I'm Dara Khaalid.

(people laughing) - Thank you Dara, you don't have to be a Gamecock fan to go to The Horseshoe.

Everybody's welcome.

Well, next up the 2023 election cycle was a relatively quiet one.

The largest area election seeing Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles reelected to a fourth term, the 2024 cycle will look decidedly different with both presidential and gubernatorial elections, which means people will be flocking to the polls.

"Carolina Impacts" Jason Terzis joins us now with a look at some of the unsung heroes of election day.

- Alright, well here at PBS Charlotte, we are proud to cover stories across our 13 county region.

I've had the privilege of traveling to just about all of those counties over the years to bring you stories of people and places.

But for this particular story, I didn't even have to leave this very building because not only does this building serve as your local PBS station, but it doubles as Mecklenburg County Voting Precinct number 46.

(transition whooshing) (gentle music) Her brown Chevy Silverado pulls into the parking lot, a friendly face greets her helping to carry in supplies.

It may be another typical day at PBS Charlotte, but not for these particular guests.

- Do you have a highlighter in case you see hava?

- [Jason] It's Monday the day before election Tuesday.

- I'm gonna slide your table a little bit.

- [Jason] And election day prep is underway.

- I think the main thing with the clocks is on that thing.

- [Jason] Precinct coordinator, Debbie Stairs, or Chief Judge, as she's officially called, leads her team of roughly 10 people in turning PBS Charlotte's Broadcast Hall of Fame into a voting precinct for the Commonwealth Park neighborhood.

- So I handle the setting up.

- [Jason] There's a lot that needs to be done.

From unraveling wires, to organizing voter rolls, taping down extension cords, setting up voting machines and posting signs, alerting voters of what they can and can't do.

All the way down to the finishing touches, like putting out flags.

And of course, what's an election without the I voted stickers.

- It's work, but it's fun.

- Usually you have to set up all the laptops and all the machines we have to, you know, do a test on it to make sure everything runs accurately.

- [Jason] The group whips in and out in about 45 minutes.

Thanks, in large part, to Debbie, who, let's just say, has done this a time or two.

The first election you worked?

- Ronald Reagan.

(triumphant music) - [Jason] Yep, that's right, 1984.

Ronald Reagan wins reelection and young Debbie works her very first election.

- I got a phone call from downtown, hey, we see your registered to vote.

The person that's doing your job is retiring.

We want you.

I'm thinking, you know me?

I don't know who gave my name.

I never found out.

And I said, okay.

- [Jason] Little did Debbie know that 40 years later she'd still be doing it.

General elections, primaries, every single one.

- I missed one year because my daughter had a baby and I kept the baby and then I went right back into it.

- To know the amount of history that she's seen, the ups, the downs, the in-betweens, the good, the bad, the red, the blue, the blue, the red is, you know, pretty, pretty amazing.

- [Jason] In November, Debbie will work her ninth presidential election earning her a fitting title from her team, Madam President.

- Madam President?

- Yes, yes, my dear.

- I'm like, Madam President, can you help me out here?

- [Jason] How and when did that start?

- Oh gosh, it probably started about five years ago, I think it's hilarious.

I love it, I love it.

- It just kinda stuck.

You know, she was the lady in charge, you know, so.

- And it fits well.

She earned the title.

(person laughing) - [Jason] The question for Debbie is why?

Why do it all these years?

Why not let someone else do their civic duty and take over?

The answer for Debbie is pretty simple.

- I love my people, I really do.

I am so blessed, I mean, I've just got wonderful and a wonderful variety of people.

You know, most of 'em retired but not all.

And they love coming there and being there.

They love what they're doing serving, but they also love seeing our neighbors 'cause we have a great neighborhood.

- I don't even know if I'd do it this long, if it wasn't for her.

- [Jason] As with most precincts, poll workers live within the district, which helps create a sense of community pride and comradery.

- Our neighborhood was, it was changing and so as it changed and you didn't get to know your neighbors as well, this was a great way to do it.

- We're like a family, we know each other.

We've been around each other for years.

- [Jason] While most are retirees, Porsche Gaines brings youth and diversity to the group and is willing to take a day off from her full-time job to serve.

- My mom's a baby boomer.

And I feel like in with her generation, they really instilled civic duty and how important it is to vote and then more specifically being a person of color, being a black woman, how a lot of my ancestors didn't have the ability to, or they had to fight or it wasn't safe for them to vote when they could.

So the fact that I can come into a safe space or work and people like me see me there and it makes 'em more comfortable to come and vote and feel, you know, a familiar face is a big part of why I do it.

- How's it going today?

- Good!

- [Jason] Election day Tuesday is a long one for everybody involved.

- Well you'll laugh 'cause nobody else gets up this early, but I'm up by three 'cause I wanna sit down in the morning.

I wanna have my quiet time without other people.

I want to eat my oatmeal.

I'm gonna walk out that door, not rush so that way I can just stroll in.

- [Jason] The crew arrives at 5:45, polls open at 6:30.

Then it's 13 hours of nonstop voting until 7:30.

The team brings lunch and plenty of snacks and cookies to make it through the day.

- Great, there's your ballot.

If you take it down there, she'll get you on a machine, thanks.

- Thank you.

- [Jason] The volunteers do get paid by the county a hundred dollars for the day, which comes out to about eight bucks an hour.

- You're volunteering and getting a thank you.

- [Jason] As for Debbie, she does have a life outside of being Madam President.

- What was I before I was this?

- [Jason] Yeah!

- Well I have a BFA, which really probably stands for better find another job because you're... - [Jason] A lifelong artist specializing in weaving and looming and a little face painting.

- Yeah, I'm a clown.

I was a clown.

I haven't put on clown makeup since the remake of the movie "IT".

So I need to go and thank the producers of that because it takes a long time.

Although I love dressing up as a clown, but so I still do face painting and make balloons and don't tell your children, but I am Miss Claus a lot, so yeah.

- Okay, I'm such a huge fan of Debbie and the entire crew of volunteers who come and work here at PBS Charlotte on election day.

I look forward to seeing them.

I also look forward to the entire community coming to visit their public television station on that day.

It's a great awareness opportunity and we love being open to service, but, Debbie, I can't believe she's hitting her 40th year of volunteering.

And my question is, and I've never asked her, how long does she plan on doing this?

- I know it's amazing when you think she's been doing this for 40 years since you know, Reagan's second, you know, inauguration.

So of course, that's the question I had to ask Debbie.

Of course, her response, she's not sure how much longer she wants to keep doing this, but she did say that between her team, which she loves, and all the technical advances to the voting system over the years, whether through the county or here at the precinct and all the technological advances, she says things are getting easier all the time, so why not keep doing it?

I mean, it is just, you know, if things keep getting easier as opposed to harder, it's like, well, okay, she loves her team, she enjoys it, she's serving our community and why not keep doing it as long as she's physically able.

- They always bring cookies and I've been known to eat some of their cookies on that day.

They're so great.

Jason, thanks for sharing.

- Absolutely.

- Finally tonight, we all remember how the pandemic affected our everyday life, the supply chain and the economy.

But for some, the pandemic created opportunities.

Do you remember Cocktail Kits To Go?

well, one local business that specializes in ice sculpting had to pivot during COVID because the demand for sculptures melted.

Artisan Ice Sculptures and Cocktail Ice repurposed some of the equipment they had and began creating specialty ice for those kits.

Producer Russ Hunsinger takes us inside one of the coolest businesses around to see how those amazing sculptures and craft ice are made.

(saw whirring) ♪ Go, go, go - [Nathan] All we do in our business is make ice.

♪ Go, go, go - [Austin] Right now you're looking somewhere around 19 degrees, Artisan Ice Sculptures and Cocktail Ice is a family-owned company that strives to make the best cocktail ice and ice sculptures in the Carolinas, even all the way around the southeast.

- [Nathan] This is our two inch cocktail cube.

- Cocktail ice is the larger format ice, some would call it a custom ice that is made from pure, clear crystal blocks that we have here in the shop.

Once they're cut down, (tool whirring) They're then packaged and shipped to our bars and restaurants.

- [Nathan] These are monogrammed and logoed.

- [Austin] These bars and restaurants will put them in their specialty cocktail drinks.

(ice clinking) Our cocktail ice is anywhere from one and three quarters of an inch all the way up to two and a half inches, as well as spheres.

About a third of our business is all towards cocktail ice.

- These are our Collin sticks and these will go into a tall Collins glass for lots of summertime drinks.

Ice is an ingredient and the flavor profiles do matter.

If you've got an ice cube that's been sitting in your freezer next to a bag of french fries, well your ice is gonna taste like french fries.

(bottle squeaking) - We use Artisan Ice because they are the best, they have the most perfect ice cubes that are crystal clear and everybody loves to drink beautiful cocktails and the ice is a big part of that.

When you put a big, beautiful, perfect ice cube like Artisan does in front of a a customer, they every single time people look at it and they're like, wow, that's perfect.

They're like, how do you guys do that?

'cause nobody can do it.

Nobody can get it right at home.

And so I just tell 'em that we've got professionals doing it.

(saw whirring) - [Austin] The ice sculpture side is our bread and butter.

This is where we love to spend our most time is with our ice sculptures.

Ice sculpture takes it right back down to our roots.

(machine clanking) - [Nathan] We start out with a 300 pound block of ice.

These blocks of ice are made in Clinebell ice machines, which take approximately four days to make two blocks of ice.

- These Clinebell machines use a system that freezes the water from the bottom up.

We have a pump that sits at the top that moves the water in a circular motion.

That circular motion creates a current, that current is bringing all those impurities up towards the top.

When I say impurities, I mean your chlorine, the things that would be in your city tap water, as well as your air bubbles, whether you believe it or not, the ice that comes outta your fridge in the ice maker of your fridge.

You know how it's kind of cloudy or white?

That's because it's sitting in the tray and nothing's moving that water, so it's just freezing in one piece there.

- [Nathan] When they're ready, we harvest them and run 'em through our band saw.

We store them in our freezer until we're ready to use them.

- [Austin] When it comes to creating an ice sculpture, it takes lots and lots of craftsmanship.

Nathan has been honing in this skill for many years now.

Nathan is a master carver.

(tool whirring) Who is always willing to try something new.

- [Nathan] I like to carve animals.

Animals really are fun to me.

Nature scenes, anything, just really it's all about whatever the most challenge is for the time.

For some folks' wedding, we did a nine foot tall cactus and it was just magnificent.

(tool whirring) - [Austin] So it's always cool to hear the responses from our customers.

- Everybody's just always asked is that real ice?

Funny enough.

♪ Go, go, go The passion is, it's about making other people happy.

You know, it's all about for me, creating a wow factor.

When I walk into a building or the bride sees their sculpture for the first time.

It's a breathtaking moment and it's all about seeing everybody's happiness and bringing people together.

- Thank you, Russ.

Artisan Ice Sculptures and Cocktail Ice has expanded to 16 bars and restaurants and is planning to grow even more.

Artisan Specialty Ice is also available in some retail locations.

If you're curious about what these sculptures might cost, the price is based on what the customer has in mind.

Sculptures start at around $450 and can go over $10,000.

I never cease to be amazed at the interesting people and businesses throughout our region.

You may know about some that we don't know about.

Please email us details with your ideas to stories@wtvi.org.

Well, that's all the time we have this evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time and we look forward to seeing you back here again next time on "Carolina Impact".

Goodnight my friends.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(soft music)