Burgiss' many enterprises help keep him on the move

"I like activity, and I like people. I like to stay busy," said entrepreneur Tom Burgiss of Laurel Springs. "I'm never bored; I have a lot of fun."

The retired pharmacist's enterprises include a bed-and-breakfast and "grapestompers," through which Burgiss imparts the knowledge and tools necessary to make wine. He enjoys taking his endeavors in new directions and marvels at the power of the Internet.

Burgiss is also enthusiastic about renovations and format changes at his dance barn, which opened last weekend for its 11th season.

Those ventures are located at his property on Elk Knob Road. He said the family farm has been there for 150 years, and his grandfather had a dental office there. The house, which is now the Burgiss Farm Bed & Breakfast, is more than 100 years old, and his mother was born there.

Burgiss himself was born in Elkin, but "For all practical purposes, I'm a native of this county," he said. He went to school here, then attended the University of North Carolina, where he got his pharmacist's degree. He was a pharmacist for 40 years.

Burgiss' wife Nancy (whose maiden name is Waddell) is also from Alleghany and is a retired teacher. The Burgisses have three grown sons: Tim, Brant and John. They also have three granddaughters — Drew, 11, Alli, nine, and Ashley, three — and one grandson, Riley, who is four.

Tom Burgiss was also formerly in the livestock business, operating what he describes as a "cow/calf operation," which he passed on to his sons.

"When they were small, I bought a herd of cattle and gave it to them," he said. "My sons worked their way through college raising cattle. That's the same way I worked my way through college; I wouldn't have had it any other way."

The Burgiss farm is no longer used for raising livestock, but part of the property is still rented out as a grazing area. "Frown-Frown to Smile-Smile"

Being a pharmacist included dealing mostly with people whose mood was not very happy at the time. Burgiss explains the transition from that to ventures such as a dance barn by saying, "I went from a frown-frown business to a smile-smile business."

He opened the bed-and-breakfast, which features water from a spring visible outside, in 1987. "I have not had a single bad experience. Everybody has been nice. I've met a lot of friends, and they come back often. I've had a lot of honeymoon

Tom Burgiss of Laurel Springs displays a bottle of ‘wedding wine' that he made for his granddaughters.

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