[gentle orchestral fanfare]

♪

[resonant strings lead
building orchestration]

♪

(male narrator)
Welcome to "Our State,"

a production of UNC-TV

in association
with "Our State" magazine--

for over 70 years,

bringing the wonders
of North Carolina

to readers across the state.

On this edition,
what some have called

the strangest house
in the world,

Rick Sullivan shows us
some sights and sounds

on fall Friday nights...

Fight, fight, fight!

(narrator)
and what it takes
to make North Carolina home

to plants and animals
from all over the world.

♪

[surf pounds as wind rushes]

(male announcer)
BB&T serves the needs

of more than 180 communities
from the Outer Banks

and the Blue Ridge Mountains
to everywhere in between.

Since 1872,
we have supported

the people and places
of North Carolina,

and we've been proud
to live and work here too.

We love calling
North Carolina our home,

and we're pleased to provide
major funding for "Our State."

Additional funding has been
provided by UNC-TV members.

[harpsichord leads
gentle arrangement]

♪

(narrator)
Back in 1878, the young
advertising illustrator

and entrepreneur
named Jule Körner

decided to build a house.

His star was on the rise,

and he decided
to use his new home

to showcase his prospering
decorating business.

Here's what he came up with.

♪

People in the newly named
town of Kernersville

had their doubts
about whether Jule

had both feet planted
firmly on the ground,

as they watched
his creation rise

on the community's
main street.

Eventually,
Körner's magnificent obsession

would evolve into 23 rooms,
according to Connie Russell,

who helps us find our way
through the place,

which she says was built
on quite a solid foundation.

(Russell)
Jule had a fear of fire,
so when it was being built,

you had brick studding
going up in the house.

Everything was brick,

and so everybody
thought it was quite odd.

(narrator)
And people talked,

often speaking disparagingly of
Jule's design behind his back,

saying things like:

(Russell)
Twenty years from now,

this house is gonna to be known
as Jule Körner's folly.

(narrator)
The whisperings
were not lost on Jule,

so when he opened up the house
on Easter Monday, 1880,

townsfolk were surprised
by the invitations.

[Russell reading]
"You're invited

to the grand-opening
gala at Körner's Folly."

And that's how it got its name,

and when he had
the front porch put in,

then he has "Körner's Folly"
put in the tiles

across the front porch,
so it's always been the Folly.

♪

(narrator)
No one room in the house
is quite like another.

♪

Some are elegant and spacious...

while other rooms
you can barely stand in.

(Russell)
A lot of your ceilings are low.

The doorways are small;
the hallways are small.

But people
were smaller back then.

Your standard
height of a man

at the turn of the century
was between 5'7" and 5'8".

(narrator)
Details often differ
within the same room.

♪

But taken together,

these differences comprised
a catalog of design features,

some of them quite ingenious,

that Jule used to showcase
his décor inventory,

which he presented to the public

as Rubin Rink Decorating
and House-Furnishing Company.

(Russell)
There was no stopping it,
from that moment on.

Every time a new decorative
motif came into being,

he would find someplace
in his house to put it.

The house was constantly

under some type
of construction--always.

♪

(narrator)
The Folly's rooms are connected

by a dizzying maze
of corridors,

ventilation shafts,
and fireplaces,

with their intricate
network of flues.

(Russell)
He was way ahead of his time

both in his engineering ability

and in his
architectural ability--

his ventilation system
going through the house--

the fact that he put tunnels
underneath the house

to enable the cool air
to rise through the same system

that pulled the heat through
from the fireplaces.

We have 15 fireplaces
in this house,

and every fireplace in
Körner's Folly draws perfectly.

He was an engineering genius.

(narrator)
Even the most inventive and
determined of small children

would find it challenging
to navigate their way

through the Folly's
trapdoors and passages.

(man)
And also,
there used to be a tunnel

that led across the road
to the carriage house.

(narrator)
Like Bill Donnell,

a Körner descendant,
and his playmates used to do.

(Donnell)
My fond memories

are wandering
around the house just--

it was a treasure trove
of places to hide.

And it was an adventure
just to find out,

you know,
where things led to,

and every room sparks
the imagination.

♪

(narrator)
But there was one room
in the Folly

that came to spark the
imagination of a certain lady.

Not long after the house
was built,

Jule decided to marry,

and Alice Körner immediately
seized on a few things

about the place
that simply had to go--

the billiards room
on the top floor, for sure,

which became
Jule's art studio for a while.

♪

But she especially
had her eye on the carriageway.

Coming down
the narrow back passageway

leads you
into the library area,

which was formerly the stables
and the horse stalls.

♪

(narrator)
Yep, there were horses

in her house--
heh, heh.

Here's how it worked:

The Folly's foyer
was the original carriageway,

with an entrance
just off the street

into which horse
and carriage could be driven

and passengers disembarked.

The carriage
was then driven out the back,

through the archway,

where this breakfast room
is today,

or the horses could be stabled
right there in the house,

to the right,
as they came in.

(Russell)
The horses would be brought in
straight from the carriageway,

and you can still see
the remnants of the windows

where the horses would be able
to stick their heads.

Originally,
the floor was cement,

and it was all level,
but it became the library

when they closed in
the stable and horse area.

♪

(narrator)
The Folly was supposedly
finished in 1880,

but Jule kept changing
the place as whim, business,

or family needs required

until his death in 1924...

♪

like this,

what eventually
became the reception room.

(Russell)
Originally, it was Jule's studio
and the master bedroom.

The children were born
in this room.

It became
the entertaining room.

This is where the guests
would come to have conversation.

And as you can see,

it is quite
beautifully decorated

with the ornate mantelpieces

and the massive carvings
around the room.

♪

(narrator)
The reception room

retains its elegant
character today

and many of its
original furnishings,

including specially
designed loveseats

for strictly supervised
boy-girl socializing...

♪

and something
called "kissing corners."

There are signs
in this room, however,

that time has not been
kind to the Folly,

particularly
during its years of abandonment

following World War II.

♪

By the 1950s,

the house had deteriorated
to the point

that the town considered
knocking it down.

That's when a group
of 26 dedicated local citizens

stepped in to save it.

Today, the Folly is watched
after by a nonprofit foundation,

and there are special occasions
when it deservedly becomes

the center of attention
in Kernersville.

[excited talking]

(woman)
I want to congratulate
all of you for your involvement

with this extremely
worthwhile endeavor

of keeping this house going

and making it a positive symbol
for the town of Kernersville.

clp, clp...clp

[footsteps]
tp, tp...tp

(narrator)
But now, let's go upstairs.

♪

Remember the former
billiards room?

Here it is,

as transformed in 1897
into a small theater.

♪

(man)
We are in the little theater--

Cupid's Park,
as it was well known.

When I was a boy--

this was, uh,
in the mid 1950s--

uh, Grandmother Donnell,
as I called her, Doré,

would bring us up
to the Folly.

And we would, of course,
play here for--

literally for hours at a time.

It was very interesting
to think about my grandmother

and great uncle
playing in the theater

and actually
putting on performances.

(narrator)
Doré, John's grandmother,

was Jule
and Alice Körner's daughter.

His Great Uncle Gilmer
was their son.

Alice organized
a juvenile lyceum,

held in Cupid's Park,

and later, the magnificent
space atop the Folly

became the site of the first
little theater group

in the United States.

Today,
the Folly's theater comes alive

with puppet shows
and other events.

[man speaking dramatically]
My name is Jule Körner.

Now what
do you think?

I'm daring.

I'm creative.

I'm Rubin.

I'm Jule.

But if each room
is an adventure,

you can live
your dream.

clp, clp...clp

(narrator)
Live their dreams
the Körners did

right here
in what has been called

the strangest house
in the world.

(Wolf)
I think Grandmother
and Granddaddy Körner

would be amazed
at the fact that the house

has actually stood
this number of years

and, uh, and that people
are interested in it.

And looking
at the future of the Folly,

they would be amazed
to see that actually

that a foundation
was looking after the home.

(boy)
Whoa.

(woman)
I know.

This is
so cool!

(narrator)
But there's one more secret
that needs telling,

something nearly
as much fun today

as it was
in the early 20th century--

a trapdoor in the theater.

If you knew where it was,

as John does,

you could open it up
and crawl out onto the roof,

where it's said that many
an evening's entertainment

was capped
by a spectacular view

that stretched for miles
and miles and miles.

And if the night
was especially clear,

it was said
that you could see the future--

a future that would be quite
different than Jule and Alice,

Doré and Gilmer,
ever could have imagined...

from high atop their Folly.

♪

(man)
Six feet tall,
one hundred fifty pounds--

that's me as a kid.

[film projector whirring]
err, err...err

A quarterback,
running back,

defensive back,
and kicker--

high school football
consumed me then.

[man yelling]
Dive, dive!

(man)
This is me now--

6 feet tall,
200 pounds--

a cameraman, reporter,
producer,

and Monday morning quarterback.

Can I catch
you real quick, Coach?

Still chasing the football,

but from outside of the lines.

A lot has changed
since I was a kid...

[crowd cheering]

but some things have not.

On any Friday in autumn,

you can still see
how it used to be

'cause this
is how it still is.

[male public address announcer]
We need you here tonight, folks.

Ragsdale's comin'
to town 4-1--

we're 4-1--
this is a big one.

So everybody in the school,
get that arm up in the sky

and point that index finger up.

One, two, three--

[all]
Go Cats!

(Sullivan)
Friday afternoon's at
Eastern Randolph High School--

not much different, I'm told,

than Friday afternoons
of years gone by.

The Wildcats football team
has a lot of history,

and it's gotten
a lot of attention.

In just a few hours,

they'll play longtime rival
Ragsdale on this field.

Right now we're on a 14-game
home-winning streak,

which we'd like
to keep intact tonight,

but uh, as we tell our players,
that's gonna--

that streak will end.

But we just don't want it
to be tonight.

[cheerleading together]
♪ W-i-l-d-c-a-t-s

♪ Wildcats

♪ Wildcats ♪

(Cates)
Our community takes a lot
of pride in their football.

You got it.

(Cates)
And it's evident

by the way our fans
turn out for our home games.

Y'all gonna
join us?

(Cates)
And it's even more amazing

when they turn out
for our away games.

(Sullivan)
Guys, tell me--
is this a regular ritual?

This is our
most extreme.

We've done
this before, though.

We had just
painted letters--

now we're paintin'
our whole selves.

Yeah, it takes about
a squirt of paint for him.

(Cates)
You know,
we're very fortunate.

We've got kids
on our football team

that do well in the classroom--
they do well in other areas,

and it's easy
to pull for somebody

when they're successful.

[drum sets rhythm]

[brass lead fight song]

♪

(man)
This is like going back
in a time capsule.

Football's still king here.

(referee)
Okay, Ragsdale in white;

Eastern Randolph in green.

(man)
And on Saturday mornings
when they go downtown,

they gotta answer questions
if they don't win.

♪

(PA announcer)
Taken by number 4
at the 45 yard line.

clp, clp...clp

(Sullivan)
The challenge
for Eastern Randolph tonight

will be to find a way to slow
down number 22 for Ragsdale.

That's Tony Baker,

the most prolific running back
in North Carolina history,

and it doesn't
look good early on.

[crowd yelling]
Yeaaaa!

[whistle blaring]
whiiii

(PA announcer)
In the end zone,

number 22, Tony Baker--
touchdown Tigers.

(Sullivan)
The visitor's already lead 7-0,

and they are about
to score again

when Eastern Randolph
gets a break.

(radio announcer)
Ball's popped loose--

Eastern Randolph
comes out with it.

Val Mosely runs down
the right sideline--

50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5--
touchdown Wildcats!

Number 1!

Yeah,
number 1, baby!

That is a big
turnaround there--

big turnaround.

(Sullivan)
Harold Nibbett has not missed

an Eastern Randolph game
since before 1970.

(PA announcer)
It's good.

[whistle blaring]
whiiii

(Nibbett)
Now, I love college football,
and I love the NFL,

but there's somethin'
about this.

You get attached
to these kids.

I adopt them
as my sons--ha, ha.

[brass lead fight song]

♪

[whistle blaring]
whiiii

(crowd)
♪ Heyyy ♪

(Sullivan)
There's nothing like a high
school football Friday night.

♪

I love being
around the kind of people

that come to these games--
people that have energy.

Go Ragsdale!

Get out of here!

Go Wildcats!

People that have enthusiasm,
people that have desire--

they're not afraid
to line up against one another

and see who's better than who.

♪

[whistle blaring]
whiiii

But the fact that they stop it
between every play

and they line up again

and they try to decide
what they're gonna do

to outsmart the other guy
or outslug the other guy--

it's like a little war,

but they play it
over and over again,

and nobody gets hurt.

[crowd yelling]

[whistle blaring]
whiiii

(Sullivan)
Who do you think's
gonna win tonight?

[all]
Eastern Randolph!

It's
settled.

Now it's getting late.

The tension is building.

The TV news is now
less than an hour away.

Like a quarterback
on third down and long,

a good sports photographer
lives for this situation.

(man)
I don't know--
our show hits at 11:00--

45 minutes back
to the station.

I got
a live truck, though.

(Sullivan)
Patience pays off
for the cameraman

and for the Eastern
Randolph Wildcats.

The go-ahead touchdown
comes in the fourth quarter.

[whistle blaring]
whiiii

The offense had come
from behind to take the lead...

and the defense
met the challenge

of bottling up number 22

just often enough
to get the victory.

Gooooo!

♪

(boy #1)
Good job, baby.

(boy #2)
Good job, y'all.

You got to see
high school football
at its best tonight.

And you couldn't ask
for a better game to do.

(Sullivan)
Many things have changed

from generation to generation,

but Friday nights at the
high school football field...

are just as good
as they used to be.

[film projector whirring]
err, err...err

[xylophone and brass
suggest African theme]

yeowwww

[bird chirping]
twi-whi, twi-whi...twi-whi

♪

(narrator)
The North Carolina Zoo,

one of the best known natural
habitat zoos in the nation.

♪

Our zoo has been
a pioneer in creating

a bold, new design for exhibits,

one that involved turning
a section of Randolph County

into environments
that might be found

on an entirely
different continent

halfway around the world.

[airy flute joins]

But this place
really ought to be called

the North Carolina Zoo
and Botanical Garden,

because that's what it is--

an environment where the plants

are as carefully chosen
and displayed as the animals...

♪

a showcase
for the relatively new science

of zoo horticulture.

(woman)
In the old days,

zoos had bars and they had
very sterile cages.

We've come a long way
in the last 25 years

with zoo horticulture.

We try and cluster
exhibits together,

and then with the plant
material, with the landscapes,

we recreate representations
of those kind of wild places

at those continents.

♪

We're a little bit ecologist,
we're a little bit botanist,

and we're a whole lot
horticulturist.

And you have to put
all those skills together,

and you don't actually come away

from, like,
a college degree with that.

You have to kind
of get that on-site.

There's no zoo horticulture
college degree.

[indistinct talking]

The really kind of uniqueness
about zoo horticulture

is the animals
and what sort of behaviors

we want to elicit
from the animals.

And many times,
I use the animal curators

to help me decide
what they think their animals

are going to do
and how they're going to react,

so that I know
which plants to choose and--

or which plants might hurt them

or which plants
might not hurt them

or what plants
they want to actually use

to get them to climb or
to get them to hide in the bush

or to make
their nest--whatever.

♪

So the design principles
for landscapes

is much more than just
how do you get a plant to grow.

♪

(narrator)
Getting plants from faraway
places to grow happily

in North Carolina
can be quite a challenge,

but one that was met
with great success

in the Sonoran Desert exhibit.

(woman)
We try to mimic desert
conditions as much as possible.

This exhibit has relative--
low relative humidity levels.

We water very sparingly.

The cacti--

the large cacti, say, are only
watered three times a year.

(narrator)
This spectacular dome building

is basically 14,000 square feet
of desert under glass.

Inside,
it is almost another world,

but the glass lets
the view extend to the outside,

where, as much as possible,

a desert environment
also was created.

[Spanish guitar
plays boldly]

(Wall)
Part of what we do
when we design landscapes

is we have to understand
the environmental criterias

and the growing conditions
of the plants.

At the desert
it was especially hard

because our growing
conditions outside

are certainly
not desert conditions.

We have a lot of rain;
we have cold winters.

And putting the cold
and wet together,

what we had to do on the design
of the desert was to berm up,

so that we have
very good drainage.

We had to use a sandy loam soil,

and we had to make microclimates

so that we could
test different things.

♪

(narrator)
Like the desert,

creating a rain forest
in North Carolina

had to be done under glass.

Three thousand plants
from four hundred fifty species

make up this popular exhibit,

home to a wide variety of birds

who would not be at home
here without the plants.

(Wall)
The R.J. Reynolds Forest Aviary
is a tropical exhibit--

plants and birds from
any tropical area of the world.

Instead of a rain forest,

it's more like
a tropical forest clearing,

where perhaps
a large canopy tree came down.

And it opens up a gap

so that a lot of sunlight
streams through,

and you have
a flush of new plants

trying to take advantage
of the light.

The birds really use the trees
and the plants in the aviary.

Primarily,
they use them for nesting.

They use them to roost at night

and for shelter
from other birds occasionally.

There's always
something flowering.

We have a lot of birds that
enjoy the nectar of the flowers.

[xylophone and flute
resume African theme]

(narrator)
Once you realize

the zoo is a complex series
of elaborate gardens,

you then appreciate
the large staff of specialists

it takes to maintain it--

as many horticulturists
as animal keepers

to keep it all running smoothly.

And the horticulture staff
is keenly aware

of their part in the educational
experience of the zoo.

(man)
The way that we can teach
conservation to visitors

is that they're able to see
some of these rare habitats,

like mountain bogs--
there are so few of those.

And most folks probably
wouldn't have the opportunity

to go visit a mountain bog.

Yet I think
they can come here

and they can see
what a mountain bog looks like

and, in doing so,
realize that these habitats

are home to some very rare
plants and that, you know,

without these plants, we won't
have a lot of the animals

that are associated
with these habitats.

♪

(Wall)
Plants are really cool.

They--they provide
everything that we need,

and what I perceive is that
people do not appreciate plants

because they
are so there for them.

I want them to realize
just how essential plants are,

and I want them
to care about plants,

because their survival
depends on it.

(narrator)
So don't miss out

on one of the best
around-the-world trips

right here in North Carolina.

Come on down to the zoo.

♪

[xylophone and acoustic guitar
lead airy arrangement]

♪

[flute joins]

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

[electronic piano
suggests chamber music]

♪

[indistinct crowd noise]

[whistle blaring]
whiiii

[violins join]

♪

♪

(announcer)
To subscribe
to "Our State" magazine,

visit the Web site
www.ourstate.com or call...

[crickets chirping]
chiiii

(announcer)
From back roads and small towns

to busy interstates
and bustling cities,

BB&T is proud
to contribute to the growth

of more than 180
North Carolina communities.

We've seen a lot change
in our 130 years,

but our commitment
to the people we serve

is one thing
that never will.

We're proud to help build
this special place we call home,

and we're proud to provide
major funding for "Our State."

Additional funding has been
provided by UNC-TV members.