Smoky Mountain News | November 30, 2022

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Ingles Nutrition Notes

written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath

Q: Iamhavingalotofstomachissuesandafriend suggestedImayhaveceliacdiseaseandIshouldstop eatinggluten.Isthisgoodadvice?

A: Though your friend is well intentioned, this is not the really the best advice as your stomach problems could be from a variety of things but….

If you are having various stomach (gastrointestinal) issues which seem to be linked with eating foods with gluten (bread, cereal, pasta, pastries etc) and want to rule out celiac disease:

1. Don't stop eating gluten just yet - wait until after you've been tested for celiac disease before you start a gluten-free diet so the test(s) will be accurate.

2. Keep a food diary and write down what you are eating and what types of issues you are having and when they start (immediately? A couple of hours?) after eating.

3. See a gastroenterologist - preferably one known for working with celiac disease patients – and discuss what’s going on. Your food diary will be helpful!

4. Get tested - the first step is usually a blood test.

Note: celiac disease may present in different individuals in different ways....some people have migraines, early onset osteoporosis, anemia... be sure and check beyondceliac.org for the different types of symptoms and more information on being tested.

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian @InglesDietitian Leah McGrath - Dietitian

A perfect gift for local lore buffs

BY J EFF M INICK COLUMNIST

If you’re looking for a gift for the holidays for that person in your life who enjoys reading about local history, folklore, and life in these mountains, or if someone you know loves whipping up different sorts of meals in the kitchen, then you need to hustle out and pick up a copy of Jim Casada’s “Fishing For Chickens: A Smokies Food Memoir” (The University of Georgia Press, 2022, 336 pages).

Casada is the author of more than three dozen books, including “A Smoky Mountain Boyhood,” reviewed last year in Smoky Mountain Living. There he recounted his coming-of-age days in and around Bryson City. Though focused primarily on mountain cuisine and culinary practices, “Fishing for Chickens” adds to more delightful stories to Casada’s earlier memoir.

In his Introduction, Casada writes that his family in the 1940s and 1950s was no different than many of their neighbors. Though money was sometimes scarce, “We always had plenty of food on the table, never worried about where the next meal was coming from, and my siblings and I got some new clothing at the beginning of each school year.”

Yet as we read “Fishing For Chickens,” we realize how different life was then. As Casada tells us, again in the Introduction, “I

now know that my family, and to an even greater extent many of the families of my contemporaries, lived an existence that in some ways was not all that different from pioneer times. This was particularly true when it came to self-sufficiency… we were rich in knowing how to grow, raise, catch, kill, trap, or find in nature essentials for life.”

Casada spends a good deal of this book looking back at all those essentials. He devotes two chapters to the common and vital edibles of that time — corn and pork — and then divides the book into sections like “Winter Squash,” “Bread,” “Wild Game and Fish,” “Berries,” “Cherokee Foods,” and “Pickling.” In each of these chapters, he gives us information about the particular foodstuff, its history and place in the kitchens of the Smokies, and traditional recipes.

Under “Sweetenings,” for instance, we learn about

“molasses makings” from sorghum, bee gums, popcorn balls, and snow cream. Recipes include such delightful sounding dishes as Old-Timey Honey Cookies, Metheglin, a traditional mountain beverage that resembled mead but without alcohol, and Molasses Pie.

In “Part III: Preparing and Preserving,” Casada describes at length the old-time practices of “putting up” food, such as in root cellars or springhouses, or by salting, pickling, and canning. As Casada points out, canning in particular must have seemed miraculous when it first became popular in the mountains in the early 20th century. Until then, the winter season restricted diet to cured pork, certain corn dishes, and dried legumes. With canning, however, life at the dinner table changed dramatically. “All I can say with certainty,” writes Casada, “is that my mother, grandmother, and virtually everyone I knew embraced canning with something not too far removed from religious fervor.”

In the final section of Fishing For Chickens, Casada describes the various practices and meals that staked out holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. In his account of the New Year’s meals, for example, he recounts that the family often ate, as they did on so many occasions, cooked apples, plus the traditional black-eyed peas for good luck, F

Great gifts for foodies

Experiential gifts shift the emphasis from tangible items to building memories through experiences. Various studies have indicated that the memories gained through experiences may surpass the exhilaration and happiness of receiving

als. While it’s possible to enroll in a culinary school if the goal is to change careers, many different private classes are ideal for hobbyists, such as cake decorating lessons to classes catering to children and teens.

ATTEND A SHOW

Food as entertainment was first made popular by legendary television personality Julia Child. She paved the way for many others, including professionally trained chefs and those like Rachael Ray, who honed her self-taught skills through experience. Network food shows often tape in metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles. Research how to purchase tickets and give the experience of being an audience member.

FOODANDBEVERAGEHOP

a material item. What’s more, experiential gifts may be something that people can share together — expanding the possibilities of gift-giving even further.

There are many different experiences to accommodate people’s specific interests. People who enjoy spending time in the kitchen will undoubtedly be excited by these food-related experiential gifts.

CULINARYCLASSES

What better way to enjoy a passion for cooking than by learning more about techniques and terminology? Classes can be the perfect avenue through which to gain more experience and instruction from profession-

greens, cornbread, and pork. As the family ate, Casada tells us, “Mama and Daddy might reminisce a bit about New Year’s traditions from the past, but mainly they expressed hope that coming months would bring good cheer, good fortune, good health, and a bright outlook for our clan.” He then ends by adding this sweet thought, “As a youngster I could always count on one great blessing — awareness that the year ahead would unfold in the embrace of my beloved Smokies.”

In these holiday chapters, too, are special recipes. Thanksgiving, for example, brings treats like Chestnut Dressing — if you don’t have chestnuts, substitute pecans — Giblet Gravy, and Smoky Mountain Stack Cake while Christmas meant Applesauce Cake, Orange Slice Cake, which sounds especially delicious, and Russian Tea, which in this recipe does not include the commonly used Tang mix that became so popular for this drink during the 1960s.

So that’s “Fishing For Chickens,” a won-

To promote local businesses, many cities and towns with strong hospitality markets organize seasonal restaurant or brewery tours. For a predetermined price, participants gain entry to various establishments offering samples of their offerings. Giftgivers can purchase entry to these events, gifting a few people at the same time. Then the group can sip and nibble the day away.

PERSONALCHEFFOR A DAY

Treat someone to a professionally prepared meal in his or her own home. Private caterers and personal chefs will sometimes offer their services and walk guests through the making of a meal — preparing it right before their eyes in one person’s home. It’s a great way to learn technique and gather with a few other lucky people to enjoy a delicious meal at home with little effort.

Food-based experiential gifts can treat any foodie to special memories that last a lifetime.

Open House

derful compendium of food, facts, and fun, a fine spread of personal stories, history, and of course, the more than 200 family recipes. By now, some readers are surely wondering about the title of Casada’s memoir, so here’s the story in shortened form. To save himself and the chickens being chased around the yard for a special dinner, Casada’s grandpa would take a long cane pole with some black nylon line attached on one end, with the line tipped by a small fish hook and baited with bread. He would then select his bird, usually one of the “lethargic layers,” wait for his target to be alone, dangle the baited hook, and then pull the hooked chicken to him, where he quickly snapped its neck. (If you’re grimacing at this description, you’ve forgotten that back then pork and chicken didn’t come wrapped in plastic from a grocery store.)

“Fishing For Chickens” is a marvelous look at Smoky Mountains life in the first half of the twentieth century with some mouth-watering dishes in the bargain.

Picking the perfect fresh Christmas tree

Come the holiday season, perhaps no tradition evokes the warm and fuzzy “feels” more than a family outing to pick a Christmas tree. Whether it’s a trek to a live Christmas tree farm — of which there are several throughout Western North Carolina (check online for those who still haver trees)— or a short drive to the nearest pre-cut tree lot, the process of selecting a tree that will serve as the crown jewel of the entire season is a great way to make lasting memories. Selecting a tree is a yearly ritual and each person has his or her set of criteria for what makes the ideal Christmas tree. These tips

can help families find the right tree.

CHOOSEYOURSPECIES

Do some homework on the type of tree you want prior to buying the tree. Fraser firs are popular in WNC, but there are many others, such as Balsam firs, noble fir and Norway spruce. Balsams are known for having the most fragrant smell, but Frasers tend to keep their needles the longest. For those who prefer a Douglas fir, keep in mind that they sometimes drop their needles prematurely due to foliar diseases like

needle-cast fungus.

SPACEFORORNAMENTS

In addition to aroma and needle longevity, look for trees that have a desirable shape and allow for adequate space between branches, advises the home and garden resource The Spruce. Trees groomed to be lush and full will look beautiful unadorned, but once ornaments are added, full branches may cause those ornaments to hang low or even fall off. Trees with sparse branches allow for ornaments to hang straight.

MEASUREYOURSPACE

Trees in the field or in a lot may look much smaller than they do when brought into the living room. Don’t make the mistake of selecting a tree that is too large for your home. The agricultural firm Ragan & Masey says to measure the room from floor to ceiling and subtract the height of the tree stand and tree topper. It’s equally important to measure the width of the area where the tree will stand and allow for ample space for foot traffic around the tree.

PERFORM A NEEDLECHECK

Every tree will drop some needles, and most evergreens hold their foliage. Modest needle loss is not an indicator of a poor tree. However, Decker’s Nursery in Greenlawn, NY says if 50 percent of the needles are lost when you swipe your hand down three to five different branches around the tree, the tree likely is not a good choice. In addition, avoid a tree that has glaring defects in the trunk as it can impede water flow through the tree.

HEAVIERISBETTER

A heavy pre-cut tree means it is full of water and has been cut more recently. A healthy, fresh tree is going to require an effort to lift. Older, dried out trees will not be heavy. Upon arriving home, make a fresh cut off the tree trunk and get it in water as soon as possible — even if that’s a bucket until the tree stand can be set up.

What to get school-aged kids

Successful shopping for adults on a holiday list often involves identifying a loved one’s favorite hobby and then finding something that makes that hobby even more enjoyable. For example, a new e-reader can be just what the family bookworm needs to make reading even more immersive.

School-aged children may not be so simple to shop for, as their interests are always evolving and they tend to outgrow toys as quickly as their growing bodies outgrow their clothes. No two kids are the same, but

appropriate binoculars that encourage kids to explore natural settings to birdhouses and fairy gardens kids can build and paint in their favorite colors, shoppers can choose from a host of nature-based gifts that encourage kids to get away from their screens and enjoy the great outdoors.

■ Board games: Board games remain a wonderful way for kids to learn and have fun doing it. Board games are made for kids of all ages, and they’re not just fun, but also beneficial to early childhood development.

For example, clinical psychologist Beatrice Tauber Prior, Psy.D. noted to the children’s book publisher and distributor Scholastic that board games requiring strategy help the

these gift ideas can appeal to school-aged youngsters at a time in their lives when their curiosity is always piqued.

■ STEM gifts: Parents know that the term “STEM” is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. These academic disciplines have gained heightened importance over the last couple of decades, and many toy manufacturers now make products that reinforce STEM lessons kids learn in the classroom in a fun way. STEM-based toys are available for kids of all ages, including children who are still in diapers.

■ Nature-based gifts: Many parents do everything they can to reduce the amount of time their kids spend looking at screens, which is a tall order in the digital era. But various manufacturers produce toys designed to help kids be more physically active in the great outdoors. From age-

frontal lobes of the brain develop. Those lobes are responsible for planning, organizing and decision-making. Board games also provide opportunities for families to spend quality time together free from distractions.

■ Cookbooks: Cookbooks are another great gift for school-aged youngsters, who can learn a lot from pitching in at dinnertime. Children who cook with their parents can learn valuable lessons about nutrition and measuring ingredients can reinforce lessons learned in the classroom. Shoppers can choose from any number of cookbooks designed for kids, and even children as young as two can pitch in when baking cookies or preparing family meals.

Shopping for school-aged children during the holiday season can be made easier with some suggestions that can reinforce classroom lessons while keeping the focus on fun.

Preparing to host holiday guests

They’re back! Family, friends and acquaintances are once again taking up residence on cots and fold-out sofas across the country as loved ones gather to celebrate the holiday season. That’s welcome news nearly three years after a pandemic first restricted such gatherings. But hosts must ask themselves: Am I ready to host house guests?

Travel is a big component of the holiday season. According to a recent survey by The Vacationer, a travel tip and vacation guide, nearly 63 percent of Americans age 18 or older planned to travel for at least one holiday, with most traveling in December.

As individuals get ready to host holiday guests, here are some strategies to maximize space and make guests feel comfortable.

■ Discuss plans in advance. Every traveler is different. Some people thrive on making lists and following itineraries. Others fly by the seat of their pants. It’s reasonable to ask potential house guests how they envision their visit, including if they plan to stay long and if it will include sleeping over. This way you can make accommodations accordingly, particularly if guests request to borrow a vehicle or want to see the sights.

■ Create some extra privacy. While some homes are equipped to handle guests comfortably, smaller homes may not be

equipped with such luxuries. Folding screens can be used to create a barrier and add some privacy in open spaces where guests will be staying.

■ Stash away travel samples. Travel-sized soaps, shampoos and lotions can make guests feel more welcome. Stock up at the grocery store or pharmacy and leave them in the room where guests will be staying.

■ Stock up on new linens. Treat guests to fresh fluffy towels and new bed linens, especially if it’s been awhile since you have restocked these items.

■ Ask about food preferences. Your guests may not want to munch on kale chips and tofu hot dogs apart from the holiday meal. Don’t push your food restrictions on others. Ask guests what they typically eat and then fill the pantry and refrigerator with some of the items they mention. When guests need snacks, they’ll have familiar foods on hand.

■ Be mindful of bedtimes. Consider guests’ preferences about bedtimes. While you may be a night owl, some guests may hit the hay much earlier, particularly older relatives or those with young children. If need be, make an effort to be quiet when kids or early birds are staying over.

Hosting for the holidays requires a little creativity and flexibility. All that effort is well worth it when loved ones have a good time while staying over.

Schools struggle with state-mandated pay increases

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER

As Swain County Schools digs into the 2022-23 budget, staff are planning for the largest fund balance allocation needed in recent years — over $1 million — to balance that budget. This is largely due to the discrepancy between state mandated pay increases for public school staff and state/federal funding levels.

School system.

While employee salaries are increasing, funding revenues are decreasing. Since the pandemic began, school systems have been “held harmless” for decreases in ADM, average daily membership. State and federal funding for local school systems depend on the number of students within a school system, but throughout the pandemic schools were funded according to 2019-20 numbers,

The funding gap has resulted in more teachers having to be paid with local funds. The school system has had to add over four teaching positions, three teacher assistants and almost two full custodian positions to local fund expenditures.

“Being a small county, we just don’t have the local funding,” said Treadway. “We’re seeing the ability for us to use that funding for positions just shrinking.”

again the reimbursements from the federal government are not keeping pace with what the state mandates are.”

The school nutrition department estimates $565,500 in local revenue from sale of food, $1,248,000 in federal funding, $1,300 in state funding and $47,000 in transfers. In order to balance the school nutrition budget, staff estimate the need to appropriate $317,745 from the school system’s fund balance.

“This is a difficult year [to make projections] because, with covid, we have to go back three years to get a gauge as to where we are, but in the meantime, we’ve had such increases in the salaries and fringes and supply costs,” said Treadway. “The main thing I wanted to point out here is as of right now, based on our budget, and we’ve really tried to get things as lean as possible, we are still looking at having to use $317,000 in fund balance to try to make that budget balance. Hopefully our reimbursements will be more than what we anticipate, but right now we are budgeting to spend 317,000 basically from our savings.”

Overall, the school system is estimating a $1,049,298 fund balance appropriation to balance its budget.

“The majority of that is coming from what we’re having to take off of the state public school fund because we do not have the funding to cover the mandates,” said Treadway.

“It’s unfunded mandates that are hurting us, mostly,” said Superintendent Dr. Mark Sale during a Nov. 14 board of education meeting. “It seems that the legislature’s goal is to expect local government to cover more, and that’s what we’re seeing now.”

The state budget, signed into law in July, provided salary increases for all public school employees in the fiscal year. It also increased retirement rates to 24.5% and increased health insurance premiums to $7,397 per employee, per year. This is a $378 per employee increase, totaling an additional $113,000 for the school system in insurance payments. The total increase in health insurance payments over the last two years is $321,000. The school system will pay $249,813 more this year in retirement, $438,000 more than it was paying two years ago.

In addition to step increases, as well as an increase to the overall salary schedule for public school employees, the state budget also mandated increases for hourly employees in the school system. Last year, hourly employees got an increase of 2.5% or up to $13 per hour, whichever was greater. This year that increased again by 4% or to $15 per hour.

These increases resulted in a 15.4% increase in salaries for the Swain County

taken during the first half of the school year.

In Swain County Schools, the student population was estimated at 1,960 during the 2019-20 school year. During the first month of the 2022-23 school year 1,811 students were counted.

“What that really means for us is that we’ve had a reduction of 100 students, which has affected our allotments,” said Stephanie Treadway, finance director for the school system.

Teacher position allotments have decreased by 4.6 positions as a result of the decreased ADM. This equates to a reduction of $236,500 in state funding. While dollar allotment funding increased 2.6% over last year, salaries and fringes have increased more than 15%.

THEBOTTOMLINE

“Dollar allotments are not keeping pace with mandated increases,” said Treadway. “The state is mandating these increases but yet we are not receiving the funding to keep up with that.”

Counties like Swain receive Small County Supplemental funding from the state. The dollar amount, $1.6 million, has not increased in 10 years. Swain uses the money primarily to pay for salaries and benefits.

The total estimated budget for the 202223 school year is $31,577,717. Of that, 50% will go toward salaries, 23% will go toward benefits, 9% to services, 9% to supplies and 8% to capital needs.

State allotments will pay for 238 full time equivalent employees, which account for almost all the state funding. Local funds pay for 15 employees, primarily maintenance staff, as well as four reading teacher assistants paid for by a special fund from the county. Federal funds, which still include non-recurring ESSER funds from the pandemic, pay for 26 full time equivalent employees.

State allotments make up 54% of the Swain County Schools budget, federal funding accounts for 17%, local funding 5%, grant funding outside of normal federal and state allotments make up 15%, and child nutrition accounts for about 7%.

The child nutrition department has a total budget of just over $2 million. Almost all of this budget goes toward funding supplies and the 25 full time equivalent employees in the department.

“Once again, the majority here will be supplies, just because food costs have gone up dramatically,” said Treadway. “Also, the increase in salaries and fringes has really taken effect on child nutrition because once

During the budget overview at the Nov. 14 school board meeting, board member Mitch Carson noted that the school board would need to tack on the needed funds in its funding request from the county. Superintendent Sale said the solution may be more involved.

“That would be an approach,” said Sale. “It is getting to a point where we are going to have to have a push there. The other side of that is, [staff] and I are going to look at every single position in our school system to see how we can offer it more efficiently and more effectively. And if there’s a place where we can combine positions, we’ll do that. At the same time, I cannot take money out of the classroom. We’ll have to look in other places, everywhere that we can, but the kids deserve the lion’s share and that’s what we’ll do. But again, it’s unfunded mandates that are hurting us, mostly.”

Sale noted that this funding shortfall is not unique to Swain County, but one that districts across the state will be facing postCOVID.

“I think it’s really important for everyone here to recognize that swain county is not the only school system that is fighting this battle,” said Sale. “If you go to any superintendent, any school board, you are going to hear some of the same stories. All of us are struggling in different ways.”

Sale said that while this is the largest fund balance allocation he has seen since he began working as superintendent, he expects to see a reduction in the amount of fund balance needed to balance the budget.

Pictured here is Swain County High School. The county’s schools have struggled to pay for state-mandated pay increases.

Free lunch for Swain Elementary students

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER

All students in Swain County elementary schools will receive free lunch this year with the help of a grant from the Dogwood Health Trust.

“This grant is wonderful for these kids,” said School Food Service Director Michele Herron.

Herron and Kevin Allman wrote the very first health grant requesting money to support free lunches for elementary students in Swain County and Dogwood will fund the request for $75,000.

Dogwood Health Trust is a private foundation formed from the sale of the Mission Hospital System to HCA Healthcare. It serves 18 counties and Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina through grant opportunities aimed at improving health and wellbeing.

According to superintendent Mark Sale, Dogwood was hesitant at first to think about funding the grant because “when one system does it another one wants to.” However, the argument from the school system is that almost all students at East and West Swain Elementary already receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch. Only a few students are left out.

“Thanks to Ms. Herron and Mr. Allman for their work on that,” said Sale when he presented the grant opportunity to the board of education on Nov. 14. “I only wish that we

could expand that for all of our students.

Swain West Elementary qualifies for the Community Eligibility Provision, a program through the United States Department of Agriculture that allows schools with over a population of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch over 40% to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students without having to collect individual eligibility waivers. The school nutrition department is reimbursed through the USDA.

According to Herron, Swain East Elementary approximately 70% of students receive free or reduced lunch. If the nutrition department could apply for the Community Eligibility Provision now, the school would qualify for the program. However, those applications will not go out until later in the year.

Instead, the difference will be made up this year by the grant from Dogwood. This is a one-time grant and Herron is hopeful that both elementary schools will qualify for the Community Eligibility Program next year, enabling the school system to continue providing free breakfast and lunch to all elementary schoolers.

“I wish we could find something for the high school and middle school, it would be great,” said Herron. “A lot of them are struggling at the moment with high balances.”

According to Herron, despite all the out-

reach schools did at the start of this school year, many families were not aware that the free lunch available during pandemic school years was set to end this year. For this reason, there are many students who would qualify for free or reduced lunch but whose

public school students. Some candidates for local school board races made this a central piece of their campaign. Superintendent Sale made it clear where he would stand if the opportunity arose to support such a measure.

families have not completed the necessary paperwork.

This is part of a larger push to provide free or reduced breakfast and lunch to all

“If the opportunity comes for us to support that, we’ll put together a letter, because I believe that every student needs to eat,” said Sale.

WCU human remains detection K9 training program wins award

Western Carolina University’s human remains detection cadaver dog training program was recently awarded the 2022 University Professional and Continuing Education Association award for special populations at the UPCEA South Conference in Atlanta.

This award recognizes outstanding professional development programs offered by universities across the southeast, from Virginia to Texas.

WCU’s HRD cadaver dog program, which is under the direction of Lisa Briggs, director of WCU’s emergency and disaster management program, has been offered at WCU since 2011.

HRD K9s are a specially trained group of search dogs who specialize in locating missing people in criminal investigations, suicides, overdoses, lost persons, natural disasters and structural collapses such as the twin towers on 9/11, and most recently the flood victims in Haywood County.

“Once thought of as a pseudoscience, understanding how canines can be effective and reliable as tools in human remains recovery is being accomplished at WCU through interdisciplinary relationships in the College of Arts and Sciences and WCU’s Forensic Osteology Research Station,” said Briggs.

In addition to directing the programs at WCU, Briggs also serves as a search and recovery specialist for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and is on the State Bureau of Investigation Human Remains Task Force, as well as a member of the Department of Homeland Security Reunification Team.

“One can only imagine for a moment their own family member being missing and unable to locate them to understand the significance of our work,” Briggs said.

She understands how important it is to

have specialty trained K9s to locate the missing and is appreciative of the resources, relationships and support from the university

not expect a K9 to be effective unless they are actually trained on that which the K9 team is searching for. There are very few locations in the country, or the world for that matter, who provide access to those who have donated their bodies to science like we have here at WCU.”

Handlers and their K9s come from countries all over the world and the nation to train in WCU’s program where Briggs and other experienced law enforcement K9 officers and trainers lead with first-hand experience in the recovery of human remains.

The Division of Educational Outreach facilitates the trainings that happen on campus throughout the year.

for such an important area of specialization.

“It is crucial that HRD K9s be trained on actual human remains and not placenta or pseudo corpse,” Briggs said. “One should

“Once the program began, word quickly spread and we saw surging demand from K9 handlers all across the United States and abroad who wanted to bring their dogs to Cullowhee for training,” said Bobby Hensley, associate director of continuing education in Educational Outreach. “Lately, the classes fill to capacity in about seven minutes from the time they are opened to law enforcement, fire, and search and rescue personnel. It is wonderful that our program received recognition from such a prestigious organization and to be selected the best program for special populations in the southeast is quite an award.”

WCU’s cadaver dog training program received an award recognizing its professional development programs. Donated photo

Cherokee prepares for special election

Seventeen candidates seek two Tribal Council seats

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

On Thursday, Dec. 15, Cherokee voters will head to the polls for a special election that will seat two new representatives on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council.

The election will fill seats left vacant by Painttown Rep. Tommye Saunooke, who passed away in October while serving her 12th term, and Wolfetown Rep. Bill Taylor, who resigned following criminal charges related to allegations of domestic violence. After plans for the special election were announced in Annual Council Oct. 24, 17 people filed to run. Painttown voters will choose from a field of eight candidates, while Wolfetown/Big Y voters will choose from a field of nine.

The Smoky Mountain News reached out to each candidate, asking about the education and experience that makes them right for the job and their top three priorities should they win the seat. Thirteen of the 17 candidates replied to the survey, spanning a spectrum of ages, educational levels, areas of expertise and priorities for tribal government.

While candidates gave a range of answers when asked about their three top issues, several were repeated often — four of the candidates said preserving the Cherokee language and culture was a top concern, while four more said increasing the number of healthy activities for youth was a top priority. Housing, health care and increased transparency surrounding tribal business endeavors were also repeatedly mentioned.

Following the Dec. 15 election, one candidate from Painttown and one from Wolfetown/Big Y will be seated on Tribal Council, filling those seats until the term expires Oct. 2, 2023. All 12 Tribal Council seats are up for election 2023.

Painttown

DAVID “ANDRE” BROWN

Brown, 49, has been a business owner for more than 25 years, first operating a residential and commercial construction company and one year ago opening Hard Tymes Garage.

A U.S. Army veteran, Brown’s educational background primarily lies in construction, but he also holds law enforcement, auto and motorcycle certifications.

If elected, Brown’s top three priorities

would be to ensure Indian preference for all tribal positions, ensure protection for the Minor Trust Fund and strengthen affordable housing for all tribal members.

MARIE JUNALUSKA

Junaluska, 72, works as a Cherokee language consultant and translator at New Kituwah Academy. She is a fluent speaker of the language, reading and writing with both Sequoyah syllabary and English phonetics.

She previously served a total of seven terms on Tribal Council representing Painttown, and for 16 years before that she was Tribal Council’s native language clerk and interpreter.

Junaluska has traveled abroad researching Cherokee documents and artifacts. She completed two years of undergraduate education in elementary education at Western Carolina University and the University of Tennessee and has completed a secretarial/business course through Southwestern Community College.

If elected, her first priority is to focus on advocating for the community, elderly and youth, including alternatives to sports for youth who need opportunities for physical activities to improve their health and wellness. She also plans to focus on continued revitalization and preservation of the Cherokee culture and language and to promote diverse economic development through local entrepreneurship.

STEPHANIE MANEY

Maney, 48, is the cultural media supervisor for the EBCI Communications Department.

A 1992 graduate of Smoky Mountain High School, she holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Mars Hill University and an associate’s degree in business administration from Southwestern Community College. She is a licensed massage and bodywork therapist and has learned a variety of traditional Cherokee craft skills. Maney has been employed by the tribe for 24 years.

If elected, her top three priorities would be to ensure resources are available to preserve the Cherokee culture, improve the appearance of town while adding family-based activities and compile the needs of the community.

SEAN MICHAEL STAMPER

Stamper, 31, currently works as a regulatory and appeals officer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Public Health and

On the ballot

Painttown

Voters choose one of the following:

• Sean Michael Stamper

• Jeff Thompson

• Stephanie Maney

• Bentley Tahquette

• David ”Andre” Brown

• Lisa Taylor

• Marie Junaluska

• Lou Jackson

Wolfetown

Voters choose one of the following:

• Jess Sneed

• Amy Sequoyah Anders

• Andrew W. Oocumma

• Frank Dunn

• Susan Coleen Toineeta

• Chelsea Taylor

• Theodore Michael Bird “Teddy”

• Sam “Frell” Reed

• Mike Parker

Polls will be open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 15. There is no early or absentee voting for this election. Voter registration closes at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9. Any candidates who still wish to have their responses included can contact holly@smokymountainnews.com to be added to the online version of this story. The EBCI Board of Elections is located in the Ginger Lynn Welch Building at 810 Acquoni Road in Cherokee and can be contacted at 828.359.6361.

Human Services Division.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on organizational leadership from Brevard College and has 10 years of experience working for the tribe in finance, higher education and public health and human services. Since 2014, he has served on the Sequoyah National Golf Course Board of Directors and has been appointed to several human resource committees.

If elected, Stamper would prioritize community involvement and participation; transparency in all matters, including finance, legislation and day-to-day issues; and listening to the community and being the voice of the people.

LISA TAYLOR

Taylor, 59, currently represents Painttown on the EBCI Police Commission and is retired from a career as a paramedic for Tribal EMS.

She holds associates degrees in criminal justice and emergency services from Southwestern Community College and is a

former Tribal Council member, serving one term 2017-2019.

Taylor’s highest priority is preserving Cherokee language, traditions and culture, which were severely harmed during the boarding school era. To see the language slowly fade away is “heartbreaking,” she said, and she hopes to see an additional language learning book created for distribution to tribal members. Taylor also supports referendum approval for a constitution and heightened school safety through upto-date procedures and equipment.

JEFF THOMPSON

Thompson, 43, is currently manager for the Handicapped and Elderly Living Program — called HELP — of Snowbird and Cherokee County, as well as the area’s housing and building maintenance programs.

Holding an associate’s degree in business from Montreat College, he has 20 years of service with the tribe, the last five of which have been with the three programs he now oversees.

If elected, Thompson’s top priorities would be to help the community with programs the EBCI offers to better serve community members’ need, continue the laid-out path for the best health care for enrolled members and ensure restoration of the Cherokee language.

Wolfetown

AMY SEQUOYAH ANDERS

Anders, 45, has owned Crossfit 2232 in Bryson City since 2011.

She studied business through the University of Phoenix and has developed a variety of skills and practices through business ownership, including planning, organization, leadership, controlling, marketing, advertising, networking, communication, interpersonal and teamwork.

While community members have expressed many issues to her, she said the most pressing are housing and providing safe and healthy activities for children, elders and families to do in the community. She also aims to keep community members informed on tribal investments F

David “Andre”

Brown

Marie Junaluska

Lisa Taylor

Jeff Thompson

Amy Sequoyah Anders

Stephanie Maney

Sean Michael Stamper

FRANK DUNN

Dunn, 52, owns Audacious Investments Corp and currently serves on the EBCI Police Commission and the MANNA FoodBank Board of Directors.

He holds a master’s degree in business administration and has previously worked for the EBCI’s Project Management Office and Tribal Food Distribution Program. He helped secure more than $5 million in grants to build a new tribal foods building.

If elected, Dunn said he would serve “from the top of Rough Branch to the top of Dobson Ridge and all the creeks, branches and hollers in between.” His top three priorities are to stay in contact with the people, listen and communicate their needs and wants and move Cherokee forward for all seven generations.

ANDREW W. OOCUMMA

Oocumma, 49, is the regional advertising manager for Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos, charged with developing marketing plans and managing a portfolio of major sports team sponsorships.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Western Carolina University. Previously, he worked as a banker for a major Midwest regional bank. Oocumma managed teams in the Ohio College system to develop customized training and education for major companies statewide, developed and managed major grants projects to put people back in the workforce, and collaborated with regional leaders to grow central Ohio’s economy.

Oocumma said every community member he has spoken with is concerned about the tribe’s out-of-state business dealings, and he wants to ensure community members are aware of the risks and rewards before such projects get voted on. He also wants to see committee and commission members recuse themselves when voting on matters to which they are personally connected. Rounding out his top three priorities is local economic development. Examples of this include increasing activities for youth and tourists, natural resource attractions, revitalizing commercial businesses and exploring bringing back bingo.

MIKE PARKER

Parker, 57, is the EBCI’s destination marketing director and is pursuing a master’s degree in project management.

Parker holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and has previously served on Tribal

Frank Dunn

Andrew W. Oocumma

Graham County receives over $1 million for housing

Additional affordable housing is coming for some residents in Graham County, thanks to a $500,000 grant awarded to the county by Dogwood Health Trust.The grant is leveraged by two grants the county has already received — $100,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act and $750,000 from a Community Development Block Grant from NC Commerce, bringing $1.35 million to the county.The monies will be used to build five houses and perform 3 to 5 major housing repairs for qualified low-income individuals.

“This was truly a team effort to receive the full grant request of $500,000,” said Rebecca Garland, finance officer for Graham County. “We leveraged the combined talent and effort of Southwestern Commission, County Manager Jason Marino’s expertise in building, and my finance background and history of working with these funders. We are so happy that 15-20 lowincome individuals or families in Graham County will soon be able to live in a safe and well-maintained environment.”

Council for a total of 10 years, including appointments as chair and vice chair.

If elected, working with leadership to develop a strategy for reporting and developing a spending plan for external economic development initiatives such as the tribe’s various LLCs would be a top priority. He would also introduce legislation to develop community design standards for housing and local economic development. Rounding out his top three priorities is working with leadership to develop dividend policies and revenue distribution to the tribal government and tribal members while ensuring adequate equity to sustain growth.

SAM “FRELL” REED

Reed, 55, works as a magistrate judge in the Cherokee Tribal Court.

He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served eight years, and has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience and 15 years as a small business owner. He has been a magistrate judge for 11 years.

If elected, Reed’s top priority would be to research tribal purchases and ensure that tribal members get a guaranteed per capita distribution from every venture the tribe undertakes. Rounding out his top three priorities are a new grocery store and a streamlined housing application process.

JESS SNEED

Sneed, 39, owns Boundary Shipping Solutions and is chairman for the Wolfetown Community Club. He has also represented his community to the Sgadugi Constitution Working Group for the past two years.

Sneed is a 2001 graduate of Cherokee High School and attended law enforcement training at Southwestern Community College. He has been a voting member of the Wolfetown Community Club Council since 2019 and has led or attended more than 100 meetings.

If elected, Sneed’s top priority is financial prosperity for all tribal members, which could include splitting profits from the tribe’s new investments 50-50 between government services and per capita payments, as is already done for casino profits. He would also prioritize comprehensive and efficient health care, including reducing wait times for hospital appointments, and would work with current Rep. Bo Crowe to provide a united voice for community concerns.

CHELSEA TAYLOR

Taylor, 40, works as a behavioral health data analyst for Analenisgi at the Cherokee Indian Hospital.

She graduated with honors from Cherokee High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from LenoirRhyne College. Taylor was elected to represent Wolfetown on Tribal Council in 2019 and served through 2021.

If elected, Taylor’s top priority is to alleviate barriers to accessing mental health and drug recovery services through increased awareness about services, alleviating stigmas associated with these issues and creating culturally sensitive mental health and drug recovery services. She will also prioritize social care — care and support planning for intellectually and developmentally disabled members, and for post-trauma among adults and teens — and progressivism in leadership. This means professional communication practices to share important information with tribal members, and following up on legislation she submitted and that Council passed calling for a comprehensive plan for Cherokee to guide physical growth and improvement of the city involving land use, transportation, transit, public services and facilities, housing and community development.

44 Parker Road • Canton 3 Bed/3.5 Bath | 3,057 sq ft $750,000

Country roads take me home to this extraordinary luxury home tucked in The Blue Ridge Mountains of Western NC. Located in the gated community of The River at Shining Rock which backs up to US Forest Service protected land, this beauty sits high on a hill and is just a stone's throw from the Pigeon River. There are over 10 contiguous acres available for sale, not developed, surrounding this home which could be purchased for privacy and/or to create river frontage. Quality of construction is evident in this home from the expansive kitchen with custom cabinets and poured concrete counters, to soaring ceilings in the great room with rock fireplace. Primary suite on main with spa like bath including large soaking tub, custom tile walk in shower and massive walk-in closet. Upstairs you will find a huge bonus room, two more bedrooms and bathroom. Heated salt water pool. Large 2 car garage. Basement makes for great storage. Short term rentals allowed.

(803) 528-5039

Mike Parker

Sam “Frell” Reed

Jess Sneed

Chelsea Taylor

Wildfire burns along I-40 at Harmon Den

Awildfire reported Wednesday, Nov. 23, in the Harmon Den area of Haywood County was still burning with no containment as of Monday, Nov. 28, estimated at 150 acres.

The Hurricane Ridge Fire is located east of Interstate 40 off Cold Springs Road in the Pisgah National Forest. Because it’s so close to the highway, smoke may impact visibility on the road, particularly in the mornings and evenings through Wednesday, Nov. 30. Flames may be visible along the east side of the road, and drivers should use caution, but the highway is expected to remain open. However, the U.S. Forest Service has issued an emergency closure for Brady Road, Forest Service Road 3526.

Firefighters worked from the evening of Nov. 23 through Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, to identify and construct containment lines. Fueled by dry, windy, unseasonably warm conditions, the fire flanked around Interstate 40 before spreading upslope to Hurricane Ridge. After topping out on the ridge, the fire started to back down into the remote Hurricane Creek Drainage. Due to the steep terrain and limited access to the fire edge, fire managers identified a contingency plan using primarily area roads, including Cold Springs Road to the north and Hurricane Creek Road to the south. Helicopters were used for water drops to reduce the intensity of the fire near these fire lines.

Aided by rain on Sunday, firefighters

worked Monday, Nov. 28, to further identify and improve contingency fire lines around the perimeter of the Hurricane Creek drainage. Several cabins are within the larger contingency area and are being assessed for fire risk and protection needs. The fire is expected to increase in size as accurate mapping is completed.

Dry conditions have prevailed in the mountain region since early October, and the most recent drought map based on Nov. 22 data lists Haywood County as experiencing severe drought. All the seven westernmost counties are in moderate or severe drought. However, until now the far western region has been devoid of large wildfires this fall. A widespread rain Wednesday and significant moisture in the forecast over the next 10 days could roll back current drought designations.

As of Monday evening, 70 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and North Carolina Forest Service were responding to the Hurricane Ridge Fire. The response effort is supported by Haywood County Emergency Management and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The public should avoid the area so as not to interfere with firefighting operations, and exercise caution as long as conditions remain dry and windy. Drone activity endangers firefighters and firefighting efforts

The fire’s cause is not yet known and is under investigation.

An aerial shot shows the Hurricane Ridge Fire on Thursday, Nov. 24. USFS photo

Searching for Boomer Inn

BY CARROLL C. JONES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Readers are now likely to be searching their own minds for the meaning of the term “boomer inn.” Could it be a hotel or boarding house? Maybe the name is associated with the generation of people known as baby boomers following World War II. Then again, it might only be a clever label for the nesting place of the rare red mountain squirrels known as boomers.

The author recently found himself questioning this “boomer inn” handle while studying two old United States Geological Survey maps and tracing a “trail” above Haywood County’s Sunburst Campground. This is the same region known as Three Forks more than a century ago, long before the modern Sunburst Campground era. It is the location where the Middle Prong and Right Hand Prong streams come together and join the West Fork of the Pigeon River. Over the years, Three Forks has hosted an early 1900s logging community with supporting railroad infrastructure, a U.S. Army encampment during World War I, and the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

A broken line on the 1935 maps depicts the trail with its meandering westward route from a CCC camp at Three Forks all the way up to the crest of Lickstone Ridge, at an altitude of 5,600 feet above sea level. The trail

climbs along the lower reaches of the Right Hand Prong stream to the point where the waters of a smaller tributary named Boomer Inn Branch empty into it. From there, it generally follows Boomer Inn Branch up the mountain to Double Spring Gap at the top of Lickstone Ridge.

Interestingly, less than a mile below Double Spring Gap, the early map indicates an existing structure beside the trail with the label “Boomer Inn.” To a keen reader of maps, this structure located at such a high elevation in the middle of an unpopulated wilderness area and with such an unusual place name begs the questions, what is Boomer Inn and is it still there?

That is what the search for Boomer Inn is all about. Those of you whose interest might be aroused are invited to read further into the matter and learn more about this Boomer Inn conundrum.

BILTMORE FOREST SCHOOL

Most Western North Carolinians have heard of George Vanderbilt and his Biltmore Estate in Asheville, but they may not be familiar with Carl A. Schenck. A German by birth and training, Schenck earned a Ph.D. in forestry sciences in early 1895. That same year, he was hired by Vanderbilt to take on the forestry management responsibilities for

Vanderbilt’s Biltmore and Pisgah Forests, covering more than 100,000 acres.

Three years later, in 1898, Dr. Schenck opened a school of forestry named the Biltmore Forest School. It was the first of its kind in the United States, with daily morning lectures and afternoon horseback trips into the forests to instruct students in the basics of forestry sciences.

Unfortunately, Dr. Schenck’s services at Biltmore were terminated by Vanderbilt in 1909, and he, along with his wife and forestry school, were forced to move off the property. Reuben B. Robertson, who was the manager of Champion Fibre Company’s new pulp mill at Canton, soon became aware that Dr. Schenck had no place to take his Biltmore Forest School students. Consequently, Robertson invited Dr. Schenck to bring his forestry school over to Champion’s new logging village named Sunburst, in Haywood County. The village was woefully underutilized at the time, pending the start of logging operations in the company’s vast forest lands surrounding Sunburst, on the headwaters of the Pigeon River. Financial issues had thus far delayed completion of Champion’s railroad, Pigeon River Railway, linking Canton to Sunburst, leaving no cost-effective means to transport harvested timber to the pulp mill in Canton.

A grateful Dr. Schenck gladly took Robertson up on the offer, and for a few

months of each year, from 1910-1913, Sunburst’s new schoolhouse/church building boasting a wonderful belfry hosted the Biltmore Forest School. Dr. Schenck and his wife were provided a comfortable home to live in and his students were lodged in available houses and tents.

As it happened at the time, on the other side of Lickstone Ridge, a few miles west of Sunburst and beyond Double Spring Gap, Champion had recently purchased the Quinlan-Monroe Lumber Company. Included in the acquisition were a circular sawmill and extensive forests on the headwaters of Allen’s Creek, embracing several large bodies of spruce timber.

This situation offered a unique opportunity for the Biltmore Forest School students to travel over the mountain and study Champion’s methods for accessing and removing the spruce timber from mile-high elevations. These logging efforts would eventually include the construction of railroads, log chutes and flumes, splash dams, and even a Roebling Engineering Company incline railway system.

THE BOOMER INN

Dr. Schenck and his students traveled by foot and on horseback from Sunburst to the former Quinlan-Monroe properties beyond

Dr. Carl Schenck is shown here (front row, right) posing with his students at the Boomer Inn cabin. Note that in the left background is the stable where their horses were sheltered. Donated photo

This 1935 USGS map shot (Waynesville quadrant) shows the upper section of the trail that connected the Sunburst logging village, where the Biltmore Forest School was located, to Double Spring Gap. The “Boomer Inn” is clearly indicated and apparently still existed at the time. The lower section of the trail is illustrated on another 1935 USGS map (Sam Knob quadrant). Donated photo

Double Spring Gap, where Champion Fibre Company was logging. There, they were able to observe and participate in the various forestry operations employed in cutting, removing and processing spruce timber.

It was a long, strenuous journey to climb the steep mountain slopes to Double Spring Gap. Old and even recent USGS maps illustrate the zigzagging trail route Dr. Schenck and his students likely used — one that is several miles long and gains more than 2,000 feet in elevation. Obviously, the zigzagging course up the precipitous mountain slopes was necessary to maintain a grade that man and horse could reasonably negotiate.

The trip from Sunburst across Double Spring Gap to reach Champion’s logging activities would have taken at least two hours. It is reasonable to presume the students had a camp somewhere along the way for respite and overnight lodging. This would have benefitted those travelers who were either late leaving or returning to Sunburst, or who were needing rest or shelter from inclement weather. It would also have provided a haven for the forestry students engaged in multiple-day projects at the logging sites across the ridge.

As a matter of fact, there is an existing photograph of the campsite used by Dr. Schenck and his students. It shows the professor posing with five of his future foresters in front of a very rustic log cabin. Of note, the cabin’s foundation logs — or sill logs — rested directly on the ground. Also, the materials used for chinking — or filling — the spaces between the cabin logs were slender poles and what appears to be a mixture of mud and moss. The main entry door was made from two vertical wood planks with hinges that look to be fashioned from chunks of leather.

Near the log cabin was an even more rustic pole structure with a sort of canvas fabric used for the roofing. A surviving photo reveals this rough assembly of sawn trees served as a stable and was large enough to have sheltered several horses along with hay and other feeds.

Could these hastily constructed structures be the Boomer Inn that is represented on the 1935 USGS Waynesville Quadrant map? That would be the same Boomer Inn shown situated near Boomer Inn Branch on the trail to Double Spring Gap.

It certainly seemed to be a good possibility — good enough to inspire the notion of attempting to locate the actual Boomer Inn site in the field. An inspection of the physical site shown on the map would at least determine if the terrain offered a suitable venue for the log cabin and stable. Although unlikely, there was even a remote possibility that surviving remains or other evidence of the structures might be discovered.

Hence, the present-day search for Boomer Inn began.

SEARCHINGFORTHE BOOMER INN

It was a wonderful day in late October that found me and my fly-fishing buddy, who is an excellent woodsman, wandering through the forest wilderness, far above Haywood County’s Sunburst Campground. As the sunlight streamed through the remaining leaves on the trees, the red, orange, and yellow fall colors shown brilliant. Temperatures ranging from the upper 30s in the morning to the 50s in the afternoon made conditions ideal for hiking the old trails, railroad grades, and logging roads in search of the Boomer Inn.

As it happened, bear-hunting season was underway in the Pisgah Forest. When we arrived at Sunburst Campground on North Carolina Highway 215, the gate across United States Forest Service Road 97 was unlocked and the road was open to vehicular traffic. With raised spirits, we began motoring alongside the beautiful mountain stream known as the Middle Prong. After adventuring about 1.3-miles up the Forest Service road, we encountered two consecutive and very tight switchbacks in the road. These are the same switchbacks that steam locomotives pulling logging cars utilized in the early 1900s.

The Forest Service road veers away from the Middle Prong after the switchbacks and winds its way around the mountain slopes until reaching a bridge crossing of the Right Hand Prong stream. We crossed this bridge and not long after drove through a fording

BOOMER

FROM 17

spot on Boomer Inn Branch, eventually reaching the unmarked hiking trail 97D on the left side of the road. At last, after a 5-mile or so drive, we parked the truck beside the road and got started up trail 97D toward Double Spring Gap.

Boomer Inn searchers, be forewarned that for most of the year—January through September—FR97 is closed to motor vehicles. In that case, you will have to take a brisk one-hour hike up the Right Hand Prong stream along trail 97B until it eventually intersects with FR97. Just across the roadway is the 97D trailhead that will allow you to continue the search for Boomer Inn.

The hiking trail 97D is unmarked in the field but clearly shown on the Sam Knob (2019) USGS map. Also, a continuation of the trail to Double Spring Gap is plainly illustrated on the Waynesville (2019) USGS map, although the mapmakers failed to label it. Searchers are advised to track their progress on these maps using a cellular phone downloaded with Avenza Maps or similar hiking apps.

In less than a quarter of a mile after starting the trek along trail 97D, we encountered a fork in the old logging grade. The lower trail is the one indicated on the map and, likely, the one used by Dr. Schenck and his forestry students. However, both trails eventually merge again, so you cannot go wrong whichever one you take.

Searchers should be aware that trail 97D is not a maintained trail, and there will be numerous deadfalls to wade through, climb over or go around. Please be careful and protect your eyes from the stiff limbs and brush that you will sometimes need to bust your way through. Although it was obvious that much of the trail was graded and used by railroad and truck logging crews in the past, there were other sections that were probably used only by Schenck, his students, sporadic hiking and hunting enthusiasts, and the wildlife. Due to erosion and tree falls over the years, these can sometimes be hard to discern and follow. So, searchers, take your time and, if you’re using a tracking device, check your location often to make sure you are still on or close to trail 97D.

The first half-mile or so of the trail gradually leads in a westerly direction and climbs approximately 400 feet in elevation before crossing an unnamed creek. After the creek crossing, the trail begins a zigzagging path up the steep mountain slope between the unnamed stream bed and Boomer Inn Branch to the west. We crossed the unnamed creek and began plodding uphill while negotiating five switchbacks and gaining approximately 640 feet in elevation. Eventually, we found ourselves in the vicinity of the suspected Boomer Inn site.

The old 1935 Waynesville USGS map indicates the Boomer Inn was located near a point on the trail having a shape much like a bird’s head—at least it looks like a bird’s head to me. In fact, the modern Waynesville USGS map (2019) illustrates the trail with this same bird’s head shape, and the beak is situated at the 5,000-ft elevation contour. My friend and I chose the tip of the beak as the point to

begin searching for a site where Dr. Schenck, his students, and their horses could have sheltered overnight—the site of the Boomer Inn.

A KEYFIND, PERHAPS

At the age of 72 years, the author does not usually make strenuous and difficult excursions into the wilderness alone. So it was good that I had recruited my fly-fishing buddy to be my Boomer Inn search companion on that fine day. As soon as he and I reached the 5,000-foot elevation and the tip of the bird’s beak, we spread out and began looking for expansive and reasonably flat areas that could have possibly hosted a small log cabin and horse stable.

The actual field conditions we encountered were exactly as shown on the topo map. Among the scattered spruce and deciduous trees, there was only one good-sized, relatively flat area that stood out to us. It was located between a towering domed hill on the upper side and a steep mountain slope below. We envisioned various ways the log and pole structures might have been arranged on this site,

and how easily it could have been accessed from the trail. Although other fairly level but smaller areas were found, none would have been as accessible or suitable for accommodating the forestry students’ encampment.

We looked around for remains or evidence of the old Boomer Inn structures, but failed to find anything. Mother Nature and more than a century of decay had eliminated the wooden structural elements. Of course, there is the possibility that small artifacts still exist, hidden somewhere in the undergrowth or buried in the ground. Since neither of us are archaeologists, we decided to forego excavations that might reveal a rusty nail or even a coin or lost folding knife left behind by one of the students. One day, I hope someone will have the motivation and gumption to search for and find treasures such as these.

The fact that my friend and I saw no rotten cabin logs or pieces of decaying canvas roofing lying around on the ground changes nothing in our minds. We believe the site where Boomer Inn was likely located has been discovered. For those interested in plotting this Boomer Inn location on a map (for

instance Google Maps) or needing additional guidance, we offer these geographical coordinates: N35.376569 degrees and W82.967501 degrees.

By the way, I suspect the name “Boomer Inn” was not derived from the small red mountain squirrels — or boomers — that dwelled in evergreen trees at the higher elevations. There is a good possibility the inn took its name from one of the definitions the word “boomer” had at the time: “an itinerant or migratory worker,” or “a transient worker.”

Considering their many back-and-forth trips between the school at Sunburst and the logging operations on the far side of Double Spring Gap, the Biltmore Forest School students would surely have thought themselves to be boomers. They would have been proud of their migratory endeavors to learn more about forestry science — proud enough to give their rustic quarters at Double Spring Gap the name “Boomer Inn.”

Note to Boomer Inn searchers: Please be aware that if you are undertaking a similar quest to find the Boomer Inn site this hike is not an easy one. That is especially true if you are beginning the trek from the Sunburst Campground. The hike is strenuous and tiring, and you will have to scramble often and carefully to get around all the deadfalls and stay on course. Yet it can be rewarding as well. In addition to the Boomer Inn site, we discovered the possible site and remains of an old logging splash dam and a few significant steam locomotive artifacts, which appeared to be drive mechanisms.

Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2022

Biltmore Forest School students are huddling to study the Roebling Engineering incline railway installation at Champion Fibre Co’s. logging operations near Double Spring Gap (1912).

WCU students network at research forum

Students from Western Carolina University were given the opportunity to network with students from other Southern Conference schools and expand their knowledge of other academic areas at the SoCon Undergraduate Research Forum held in October.

The event is a collaborative project of the Southern Conference membership hosted annually at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

“We are so thrilled that our students get to experience this forum each year and learn about so many different disciplines,” said Kloo Hansen, WCU’s undergraduate research coordinator in the Office of the Provost. “This is a fantastic collaboration between the SoCon schools and allows students to network and refine their presentation skills.”

Supervised by a panel of faculty members representing each SoCon school, SURF welcomes research from humanities, the arts and STEM disciplines. Nearly 125 students from the 10 Southern Conference institutions gave presentations.

Ten students from WCU participated in this year’s SURF.

Abigail Gulley, an interior design student, shared her conference experience and why she chose “Cognitive Disability Informed Design within Religious Building and the Impact of Acoustics” as her research topic:

“The most rewarding part of the conference was experiencing the other presenters’ enthusiasm and learning about topics that were never on my radar,” said Gulley. “My research set out to prove that designing a space with acoustical awareness will impact the wellbeing of individuals on the autism spectrum. The setting of this research is applied within a religious building because of a personal experience where the decibels were too high during the worship service, and this inspired the research at hand.”

Adam Mottershead, a natural research management student, wanted to conduct research on a new approach to market-based water pol using ecological boundaries known as watersheds as the trading areas. His presentation was titled, “Budgeting North Carolina Water through Watershed Trading Quotas.”

“In this research I did with Dr. Sean Mulholland, people were given percent allotment of the total available water in the watershed, with hopes to have conservation occur through trading,” said Mottershead. “SURF was great because I got exposed to so many disciplines across several universities in attendance. It was a great chance to see incredible work done by other undergraduates, refine my presentation skills, and to network with others.”

SCC inducts National Technical Honor Society members

Held on Nov. 17 in Myers Auditorium on Southwestern Community College Jackson Campus in Sylva, the fall National Technical Honor Society ceremony was an opportunity to honor the accomplishments of 66 inductees. They all hold at least a 3.5 Grade Point Average, were nominated by a teaching faculty member and rank among the top 20 percent of active students in their respective programs.

“It takes a lot of hard work to gain entry into our chapter of the National Technical Honor Society, so these students and their families have a lot to feel good about,” said Dr. Thom Brooks, SCC’s Executive Vice President for Instruction and Student Services. “We’re extremely proud of every one of these students.”

NTHS recognizes outstanding student achievement in career and technical education. It encourages higher scholastic achievement, cultivates a desire for personal excellence and helps students

find success in the workplace.

Following is a list of inductees from our coverage area:

HAYWOOD COUNTY

• Canton: Amanda Hamby, Cyber Crime Technology.

• Waynesville: Ashley Caldwell, Associate in Arts; Dustin Messer, Physical Therapist Assistant; Abigail Shoemaker, Occupational Therapy Assistant.

JACKSON COUNTY

• Balsam: Misty Blanton, Office Administration.

• Cashiers: Rita Ferrin, Early Childhood Preschool

• Cherokee: Jerilyn Crowe, Office Administration; Stanley Crowe, Civil Engineering Technology; Karyl Frankiewicz, Early Childhood Education; Kyra Lossiah, Business Administration; Brittany Martin, Addiction and Recovery Studies; Trina Thomason, Early Childhood Education.

• Cullowhee: Daisy Queen, College Transfer Pathway – AND Pathway; Ethan Ramsey, Information Technology – Software and Web Development; Maria White, Business Administration – Entrepreneurship.

• Sylva: Michael Dux, Accounting and Finance; Madilynn Franklin, Associate in Arts – Early College; Judith Lowery, Health Information Technology; Benjamin Ogletree, Associate in Arts; Demi Roberts, Health Information Technology.

• Webster: Lindsey Stephens, Associate in General Education – Nursing.

• Whittier: David Coulter, Culinary Arts; Rachael Meyer, Opticianry; Luke Templeton, Information Technology – Software and Web Development; Heather Waldroup, Business Administration –Entrepreneurship.

MACON COUNTY

• Franklin: Holly Alligood, Accounting and Finance; Amanda Anderson, Accounting and Finance; Sachenka Angel Aranguena, Associate in Science – Early College; Amanda Boyd, Health Information Technology; Amanda Canzone, Occupational Therapy Assistant; Casandrea Crawford, Associate in General Education – Nursing; Georgianna Dunn, Health Information Technology; Sarah Freqeau, Surgical Technology; Alexis Giles, Associate in Science; Cassie Hagler, Medical Office Administration; Benjamin Hanemann,

Associate in Fine Arts in Visual Arts; Kaylee Harris, Medical Sonography; Jennifer Hedrick, Health Information Technology; Andrew Houston, Information Technology – Network Management; Angela Messer, Medical Office Administration; Kathryn Sumrell, Medical Assisting; Alexandria Torres, Early Childhood Education; Silas Way, Accounting and Finance; Derrick Williams, Paralegal Technology; Jessica Wilson, Medical Office Administration; Anika Zuiderveen, Associate in Arts – Early College.

• Highlands: Megan Parker, Advertising and Graphic Design.

• Otto: Donna Smith-Lannen, Associate in General Education – Nursing.

• Scaly Mountain: Preston Atwood, Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration.

SWAIN COUNTY

• Almond: Madilyn Wike, Business Administration – Entrepreneurship.

• Bryson City: Sandra Arvey, Business Administration – Entrepreneurship; Angel Bradley, Cyber Crime Technology; Rebecca Bumgarner, Office Administration; Mackenzie Cochran, Surgical Technology; Caleb Crisp, Associate in Science; Danie Herrin, Respiratory Therapy; Kristen Sawyer, Occupational Therapy Assistant; Ashley Stevenson, Associate Degree Nursing – RIBN.

Haywood Community College’s marketing team wins four awards

Haywood Community College’s Marketing & Communications team recently received four awards from the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR), District 2. The awards represent categories including print, social media, event/fundraising and video.

NCMPR exclusively represents marketing and public relations professionals at community and technical colleges. The Medallion Awards recognize outstanding achievement in design and communication at community and technical colleges in each of NCMPR’s seven districts. The District 2 competition included over 250 award submissions from the district, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and The Bahamas.

“This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication the HCC Marketing has done this past year,” said Michelle Harris, HCC Director of Marketing & Communications. “The team has worked hard to make an impact with our efforts for our students and community.”

HCC’s awards include Gold in the Print Wildcard Category for the recruitment piece created for the on-campus Balsam Range concert and bronze awards for Increased Social Media Engagement for HCC’s Instagram page, Special Event or Fundraising Campaign for the HCC Foundation Laughter and Libations event and Promotional Video-Long Form for the Southeastern Wildlife Conclave video.

Students from Western Carolina University recently attended the Southern Conference forum at Wofford College to present research projects.

For the love of those gathered at the feast

My wife and I were truly blessed to have our children, some relatives and close friends gathered for Thanksgiving, which has always been my favorite holiday. So many of the people I love, all together around the table and nothing on the agenda except to re-tell stories from the past, muse about the future, revel in each other’s company and eat until we couldn’t. The world’s problems seemed to melt away.

Unfortunately, those problems were still there, including the deadly plague of mass shootings that has become an inherently American problem. As I tended the grill prior to dinner and scrolled through the news sites, the mass shootings from — let’s see, was it Chesapeake, Va. (7 dead, 6 wounded on Nov. 22); Hennessey, Okla. (4 dead, 1 injured on Nov. 20); or Colorado Springs, Colo. (5 dead, 17 injured on Nov. 19) — were all over the news.

With so many of my loved ones gathered, I couldn’t help but ponder the senseless loss of life that too many in this country have come to accept as the cost of living in a free country. I just don’t agree that we can’t stop some of these shootings.

From the time I was 10 until I left home at 18, Thanksgiving was about guns. Not guns specifically, but instead our tradition of visiting relatives in the Rockingham, N.C., and Cheraw, S.C., area where the entire trip revolved around hunting trips. I remember getting lessons on proper safety measures, and my uncles and cousins took it very seriously.

It may be time to amend Constitution

To the Editor:

Rob Schofield in last week’s Smoky Mountain News decried the current Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) as “political” because it has taken the words in the Constitution literally and seriously. Seriously?

If we want to protect abortion, let it be said. If we want to ban semi-automatic weapons, let it also be said. Instead, we continually attempt to treat the document as a “Magic Slate” by defining and re-defining previously unambiguous terms to fit a given circumstance. If we want a different outcome, amend the Constitution!

Hamilton, Jefferson and others suggested periodic re-writes, with Hamilton suggesting that doing so every 19 years would be wise.

We are continually endangering the document and the rights it has given us through our feckless judicial work arounds.

Abortion, marriage and sexual conduct are not addressed by the Constitution. Slavery and religious freedom are. Therefore, the former are not in SCOTUS’ purview, but the latter are rightly subject to federal protections.

What is a “fundamental constitutional right” anyway? My interpretation is that it is only a notional concept used to promote a point of view on a given issue. Apparently SCOTUS agrees, relegating the Dobbs matter to a state issue, where it rightly belongs.

As Justice Antonin Scalia once observed:

Editor Scott McLeod

So serious that a mistake I made way back then as a 12- or 13-year-old is riveted in my memory to this day. We jumped a covey of quail one morning, and in the nervous rush of an inexperienced hunter I raised my .410 shotgun and fired. But the birds had risen only a few feet and were almost right between me and my uncle. My shot wasn’t right at him, but it was close enough that he marched right over while yelling at me for my mistake, yanking the shotgun out of my trembling hands and telling me to go sit in the truck for a while and think about what I’d just done. “You could’ve killed me,” he barked, cussing me with more wrath than I ever remember coming from him.

Lesson learned, that’s for sure: safety first, safety first. It seems we as a country can’t learn that lesson — that we can make this country a lot safer with smart laws without banning guns. It’s going to take a whole host of incremental laws until we begin to reduce the onslaught. We’re not going to stop all these mass shootings, be if we can eliminate a handful, perhaps half, then we will have accomplished much.

After the horrific Uvalde shooting where 19 elementary students and two teachers were killed, Congress — with some Republican support — passed a law earlier this year that included expanded background checks for 18- to 21-year-olds, more funding for mental health services and school safety,

LETTERS

“The Constitution says what it says, and it doesn’t say what it doesn’t say.” This is the foundation of our federalist system. Justice Samuel Alito was spot on when he called out Justice Harry Blackmun’s reasoning for being the wishful thinking that it was.

The remedies are there for Dobbs and like cases: state statutes or even congressional acts. Those who want change can certainly access the means to get it done.

Dobbs is an important reset of our court system to a point where the roles of the judiciary are properly clarified. We should celebrate it.

James M. Graber Franklin

Will Trump answer to the American people?

To the Editor:

A college football coach will tell you there are three basic units that comprise a football team: offense, defense and special teams. That same coach will also tell you that they are not separate from each other. They all get analyzed by their fan base, by their coaches. They get derided by opposing teams. Still, this goes on with hundreds of teams — there is no national team.

Consider this, however! The U.S. Constitution provides for three branches of government. All three are designed to provide

and funding for programs to take guns from troubled individuals.

But there’s more to be done. In 2020 and 2021, Virginia’s legislature enacted a series of laws that includes universal background checks, a three-year ban on firearm possession for people convicted of assaulting a family member, and a redflag law that gives authorities the ability to seize weapons from people considered a threat. Those kinds of laws are needed nationwide.

The Middle East veteran who was the hero in Colorado Springs described the shooting as similar to what he saw in war zones, with the perpetrator in body armor and weapons blazing. His heroism saved God knows how many lives.

My heart skipped a beat as I heard about that veteran. I remembered Riley Howell, the young man from Haywood County, who also went charging toward a shooter while in class on the campus of UNC Charlotte on April 30, 2019, also likely saving many lives. I knew Riley and his family, and my heart still aches for them. My son was a student at UNCC at that time, and for several minutes I had no idea whether he was hurt until he finally sent a text.

For the love of all those gathered around my table on Thanksgiving and those who gathered around yours, here’s the truth: we can have guns and strict gun controls that will eliminate some — maybe most — of these shootings. We at least have to give it a damn try.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)

equal services/protection to all Americans. They appear to be separate from each other. But they overlap, as in a three-lobed Venn diagram, in the center. That center is the American people. All Americans have one team. They must work for the good of all.

Former President Donald Trump has become an expert at playing one branch against the other. Even worse, he plays them against the American people to create chaos and confusion.

The Department of Justice is investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Dozens of rioters have already been prosecuted and sentenced for their dangerous roles. Yet, Donald Trump has refused to tell any investigative body whether he played a part in

staging the riot/insurrection and/or failing to stop it. This is where Trump thumbs his nose at the American people — the people he was/is supposed to serve.

The Constitution links all elected and appointed officials with the people. Surely the Constitutional framers did not intend for elected officials to separate themselves from the people as Trump has. His refusal to testify suggests he did something he should not have done or failed to do something he should have (or both) while in office.

Will Trump eventually answer to the three branches of American government? Will he answer to the American people? We will see!

Dave Waldrop Webster

Free speech trumps party politics any day

To the Editor:

Here I am, a constitutional conservative who for 40-plus years has voted, held office, and worked as a Republican volunteer, sitting at my computer feeling thrilled to death over the Republican red wave that wasn’t.

Now, I am being subjected to cable news talking heads and political internet entities arguing about who was at fault. And of course, it was all President Trump’s fault, the only Republican constantly crisscrossing the country holding rallies for our candidates.

Just another wonderful opportunity to denigrate the former President and hopefully force him out of running for President in 2024. The most productive President, who actually delivered on his promises to the people and actually did make America great again. Unheard of in modern politics.

No folks, it was the Republican leadership in Congress who failed to make the red wave a reality.

Rep. Kevin McCarty, minority leader of the House, who publicly announced he would not hold impeachment trials on any Democrats who had brought so much destruction and harm to our country and citizens. Acts that were literally treasonous, but hey let bygones be bygones and do the Republican thing and not hold Democrats accountable as usual. That went well in winning seats.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, minority leader of the Senate, who took millions of dollars in campaign funding away from Trump endorsed candidates with great potential to win against their opponents. That money was taken away and redirected to support left-leaning Republicans who would show allegiance to him, Republican candidates who openly announced intentions to vote with Democrats. That went well in winning the Senate back.

These are the two individuals primarily responsible for a failed red wave.

But hey, I too bear a big share of the blame for writing an article which was published in the Mountaineer on Oct. 22, 2022, just days before early voting began. The article was critical of these so-called leaders who cared more about their pride, positions of power, and elite status in Washington, D.C., than about winning. My article was written factually, pointing out Republican leadership’s consistent failure to lead on behalf of the people.

This article earned me the wrath of my Haywood County Republican Party Chair, and according to this chair, numerous other unnamed individuals. This wrath preceded my resignation as a county precinct chair. I resigned not because of the severe chastising — I’m not that thin skinned, having swam with the sharks, as the saying goes,

throughout my career.

I resigned because this Republican chair of the party sworn to protect the Constitutional rights of every American had the audacity to advise me that as a precinct chair, I had no right to write such an article critical of the Republican Party leadership just prior to the elections.

I have re-read the First Amendment to the Constitution and nowhere in that amendment does it state that an individual forfeits their right to free speech because of political position or any special political event. I will always choose my First Amendment rights over any political position.

Now that the elections are over, I’m hearing from numerous Republican Haywood County party members that the red wave which actually did happen in Haywood County was the result of all the hard work our chair put in on behalf of our candidates. Folks, neither our chair nor our county party had the manpower or will to make any real impact. Rather, the candidates won their elections through their own efforts and with the support of Joe Biden. Aside from a few meet-and-greet sessions and one phone call campaign, we did nothing more.

We did not go out with candidates and actively help, we did not have multiple phone call campaigns, nor did we go to any local groups and speak on behalf of our candidates. We did well this cycle because of Joe Biden and his policies and nothing more. Our ineffectiveness in being a driving force in helping our candidates win in 2024 will remain a problem without profound reform and change in leadership.

We are a currently a county party of approximately 25-30 active volunteers, a number that should be three times as large. We are currently a county party with no diversity program to draw in minorities or young adults; we are a currently a county party with no outreach programs to draw in new volunteers; we are currently a county party with no documented mission plan; we are currently a county party with no real partnerships with our elected Republican officials or with outside conservative group within our county; nor are there any teams or committees in place to lead our county party forward.

Because I write articles addressing this party’s critical shortcomings, I am accused of personal attacks on our chair as a person. I am not attacking the chair as a person; I am bringing to light the failures of our chair to lead our county party in a manner that makes us a viable component of the Republican Party.

LeRoy E. Cossette Waynesville

THE NEXT CHAPTER

Balsam Range celebrates 15 years, looks ahead

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITOR

In a year that’ll surely end on a bittersweet note, beloved Haywood County bluegrass sensation Balsam Range is not only celebrating 15 years together, the band is also saying goodbye to one of its founding members, mandolinist Darren Nicholson.

“[The timing] feels just right for me,” Nicholson said. “I did [over] 250 performances last year on my own, and almost 40 with Balsam Range. It’s very simple — it’s just gotten hard to do it all.”

Although the departure from his longtime group is amicable, Nicholson noted that his health, physically and mentally, was the main reason as to deciding to pursue a solo career with his popular country/bluegrass act, The Darren Nicholson Band, and put his entire focus on one artistic entity instead of two.

“I’m in a place in my life where health is a priority, and juggling careers is quite stressful from a scheduling standpoint,” Nicholson said. “Health is physical, mental, and spiritual, so this is about serenity for me, [with] my physical health probably the best it’s ever been in my life [right now].”

Thus, Nicholson’s final bow as a member of Balsam Range will come during the ensemble’s annual “Art of Music” festival, taking place Dec. 2-3 in the Stuart Auditorium at the Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center. The weekend long musical gathering will also officially mark the 15-year milestone for the quintet.

“Looking back over the [15-year] journey, I’m still amazed at all we’ve accomplished, as so many incredible memories,” said lead singer/fiddler Buddy Melton. “After all the planning, strategizing, long hours, countless miles, and family sacrifices, does it seem worth the effort? The answer is yes — it doesn’t take much reflection to feel proud of our journey.”

Coming together as an impromptu jam session in the kitchen of Nicholson’s Canton home in 2007, Balsam Range was initially meant to be a casual musical project for all involved, each having been professional touring musicians for many years prior. But, the vibe felt so right and seamless, the group started booking gigs around the region, the project soon taking on a life of its own.

“The early days were full of excitement, hope, long hours, and much effort — setting out-of-reach goals, building teams and strate-

Want to go?

The annual Balsam Range “Art of Music” festival will take place Dec. 2-3 in the Stuart Auditorium at the Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center.

Alongside two performances by Balsam Range, other stage acts will include Sierra Hull & Justin Moses, Travelin’ McCourys, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble, Shannon Wright & Adam Wright, and The Studio Dream Team Band.

For more information and to purchase tickets, click on balsamrangeartofmusicfestival.com.

gies to achieve them,” Melton reminisced. “We are told our whole lives to follow our dreams, [and] dreams only die if we start looking at all the difficulties it takes to achieve them — focusing on the dream, those difficulties are merely steps that help us climb to the top.”

And since its inception, Balsam Range has become one of the most decorated and awardwinning acts in the wide world of bluegrass music. The band has taken home the following International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) honors: “Entertainer of the Year” (2014, 2018), “Album of the Year” (2013, 2017), “Song of the Year” (2011, 2015) and “Vocal Group of the Year” (2014, 2015), with Melton named

“Male

“It’s most meaningful to me to remember how the band has been able to help certain families,” said banjoist Marc Pruett. “[Whether it was] a child with cancer [or] a family whose home burned, and the fragile and old we helped feed through our efforts with Meals On Wheels, and the Backpack Program — for me, those are my accolades.”

So, even after spending most of their lives immersed in the ancient legend and lore of the “high, lonesome sound,” just what is it about bluegrass music that still tugs at the heart of the members of Balsam Range all these years later?

“It’s organic. It’s the hills crying out. It’s love, heartache, hope, and inspiration. It’s the music of experiences and real life,” Nicholson said. “This music is deep in my soul. It’s been there since I was a small child in rural Western North Carolina with all my family and their pals playing music in our living room.”

“I remember how wonderful it made me feel when I first heard Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, then Bill Monroe, then the Stanley Brothers,” Pruett added. “Earl’s banjo playing went straight to my 10-year-old heart, and each time I get to step onstage with my banjo, I try to play with a feeling that will make others get that same spine-tingle that I got then. There is perfection in the music ‘of the old guys’ that still moves me — I still study it, and I still learn.”

Vocalist of the Year” (2014, 2018) and Tim Surrett “Bass Player of the Year” (2018).

(From left) Balsam Range is guitarist Caleb Smith, mandolinist Darren Nicholson, banjoist Marc Pruett, fiddler Buddy Melton and bassist Tim Surrett. (David Simchock photo)

Brotherhood and backwoods tradition

A retrospective on Balsam Range

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITOR

Writers’ Note: Since I started in the position of arts and entertainment editor at The Smoky Mountain News in 2012, I’ve been able to dive deep into the legend and lore of bluegrass sensation Balsam Range. Not only has the group become musical heroes in their own right, they remain a pillar of the genuine compassion and inclusive nature at the heart of folks here in Haywood County and greater Western North Carolina. Below are excerpts from numerous cover stories and articles over the last decade.

Congratulations on 15 years, my friends.

AUGUST 2012

On the heels of their latest release, “Papertown,” Balsam Range held court at the historic Colonial Theater in Canton last Friday night, Aug. 10. The sold-out album-

release party attracted around 250 patrons. The concert was a celebration of not only a new record, but also a homecoming and “thank you” to all in Haywood County — all of those who are a part of “Balsam Nation” — on their continued support of a band that is realizing more and more each day that the sky’s the limit with its potential.

“I grew up in the mountains and music was part of our heritage. My dad played and about everybody in my family played. We’d play every evening, especially on Friday nights when other musicians would come by and sit on the porch,” said mandolinist Darren Nicholson. “As long as people have been living here, music has been here. Music and dance is a big part of mountain culture. It’s just a way of life. Sitting down with your family after dinner and playing. It’s been like that around here for hundreds of years.”

Entering their fifth year together, the group came to fruition in a roundabout way of old friends and new, sitting down and pickin’ for the sake of pickin’.

“Originally, we just got together to jam. A couple of the guys had put out solo records

and some of us played on those records,” said bassist/dobroist Tim Surrett. “We had so much fun and ended up picking together. By the second time or so we picked, we got asked to play a show and then we just had to look for a name.”

The quintet features Nicholson, Surrett, guitarist Caleb Smith, fiddler Buddy Melton, and banjoist Marc Pruett. From winning a Grammy Award (Pruett) to being inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame (Surrett), PowerGrass Music Awards “Male Vocalist of the Year” (Smith) to performing at the Grand Ole Opry (Nicholson) or playing alongside the legendary Doc Watson (Melton), they’re an array of talent and acclaim deeply rooted in Western North Carolina.

“We all grew up around here. There’s something magical about [bluegrass] that grabbed me,” Melton said. “It’s hard to describe until you’ve experienced it. We meet new fans all the time that have just discovered this music and it hits them in the heart.”

Wandering backstage before the show, a cacophony of strings drift through the hallways. Each member finds their own corner where they tune-up, take a moment to collect their thoughts and catch their breath in the minutes leading up to the performance.

“I think the reality of bluegrass is that it’s real. There are songs about racehorses, rivers, mountains, murder, baptisms, etc., and all of that still resonates today,” Smith said. “When we look for stuff, we look for things that aren’t written for bluegrass. As a whole, bluegrass is a feel type of music. It’s believable. It’s always fun to bring new music to people and step out with brand new things to offer.”

Stepping up to the microphone, Surrett saluted the crowd amid raucous cheers and applause. Outside, the tall steam stacks of the paper mill signal that there’s a lot more work left to do and tomorrow is new a day.

“We grew up here and we played ball

here,” he said. “We live here and we think it smells just fine here.”

JUNE 2014

Pulling into the parking lot of a Tractor Supply Company in Clyde, fiddler Buddy Melton pops the tailgate of his truck down and takes a seat. An engineer for the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Public Water Supply Section (the department covers 19 counties), Melton just finished another full day of work.

He sits on the tailgate and takes a break for a moment. Soon, he’ll get ready to travel to Highlands for a Balsam Range show that evening — show two of five that weekend.

“It’s exciting. It’s hard to believe looking back at where we started and to see it materialize in the way it has,” he said. “‘Papertown’ was a benchmark as to where we’re at. We’re really proud of this new album and what the future holds.”

The de facto leader of Balsam Range, Melton started playing fiddle in college. He performed with bluegrass/gospel group Jubal Foster, an act that had some success, but not enough in the tank to keep it going. Melton also performed with bluegrass legends David Holt and Doc Watson before he found himself jamming in Nicholson’s kitchen. With the rapid success of Balsam Range, Melton can only pinch himself to see if it’s real.

“I remember going to the IBMA awards prior to playing music and just as a fan, and watching folks I admire up onstage winning awards,” he said. “You never dream you’d be up there one day going through the same process.”

But, the awards and accolades received by Balsam Range almost never happened, with the band at the mercy of the heavens when Melton was severely injured in a farming acci-

Balsam Range performing onstage at the Colonial Theater in Canton and the Bele Chere festival in Asheville (right). (Garret K. Woodward photos)

“We all grew up around here. There’s something magical about [bluegrass] that grabbed me. It’s hard to describe until you’ve experienced it.”

— Buddy Melton

Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2022

dent in early 2012. Owner of a 300-acre farm in Crabtree, Melton was kicked in the face while loading cattle. He suffered brain trauma, with surgeons wondering if he’d survive, let alone be the same again after recovery.

“The accident changed me drastically. I went through life without any major glitches, never been in a hospital. You think you’re somewhat invincible, you see people suffer and you feel for them, but when you personally go through something like that it’s a reality check,” he said. “You realize life is precious, life is short, and you need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.”

Though Melton admits there are certain oddities that remain from his accident, for the most part he’s made a positive recovery. He was able to take the stage to perform at the album release for “Papertown” only a handful of months after he was one foot in the grave.

“You’ve just got to put it all behind you, take what you have and move forward,” he said. “The accident definitely changed my outlook on life and Balsam Range. It doesn’t take long to realize this is a special thing the five of us have — I’m grateful for it all.”

Each time Balsam Range hits the stage Melton is humbled by the supportive and encouraging audiences. He’s also thankful for the mere fact that he knows exactly what the other four members will give — passion, professionalism and a piece of mind that their band is a fruitful endeavor.

“We are five guys with similar needs and wants, similar families and goals. We have talent and are focused. We communicate openly and honestly, with each trying to keep

— Buddy Melton

it successful, with each able to put on different hats at different times,” he said. “We will play the Grand Ole Opry on a Saturday night, then get up for work on Monday morning. You have to switch those hats, be focused and know you have a limited time to get it all done and do you get it done? We do.”

OCTOBER 2014

Caleb Smith had no idea.

“I didn’t hear them announce it,” he marveled. “I was backstage talking to Del McCoury about a guitar and he says to me, ‘Son, I think they just called your name.’”

“They” as in the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), and what was called turned out to be Balsam Range winning Entertainer of the Year at the annual award show Oct. 2 in Raleigh. For Smith, the guitarist in the Haywood County group, taking home the biggest honor in the bluegrass industry was both shocking and very humbling.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” he said at the band’s celebratory after-party. “It’s humbling to even be nominated for this award by your peers and your heroes, and to win it and take it home, well, it was a milestone moment we’ll never forget — we hit the top of the mountain.”

The final honor of the evening, Balsam Range took the grand stage at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium to accept the award. It was the band’s third win in an evening that also garnered them “Vocal Group of the Year” and “Male Vocalist of the Year,” which was bestowed upon Melton.

“My mind was just racing. There were a lot of nominees in that category who were people that are the reason I got into singing in

the first place,” Melton said. “To be included with that caliber of performers is amazing, and to win it just put it over the top.”

Since their inception in 2007, Balsam Range has rapidly risen into the stratosphere of 21st century bluegrass. Amid their numerous number-one singles, accolades and Grand Ole Opry appearances, they also won the 2011 IBMA “Song of the Year” award for “Trains I Missed.”

And on the heels of winning “Album of the Year” in 2013 for “Papertown,” the quintet released the follow-up “Five” in June. The new record and its singles have spent most of this past summer burning up the bluegrass charts.

“Music is a very powerful thing, it speaks to people, it’s the universal language, and there’s a responsibility with that when you get to the level we’re at,” Melton said. “People connect to your music and they tell you their life story, and it brings awareness to what we’re doing. We’re impacting people’s lives and they’re impacting ours — that’s a pretty special thing.”

Before the final award for “Entertainer of the Year” was presented, Balsam Range took

the stage to play their hit song “Moon Over Memphis.” The melody took the roof off the building, as the audience roared in applause following its completion.

The band had yet to return to their front row seats when it was announced they had won “Entertainer of the Year.” The auditorium shook with cheers and a standing ovation when they emerged from backstage to receive their trophy. The group waved to the crowd, only to look down with smiles from ear-to-ear at their ecstatic wives clapping from the front row.

It was a moment they’d never forget, a moment of pride that will go down as one of the finest in the long and storied musical history of Western North Carolina.

“I haven’t felt this proud since Pisgah High School won the state football championship in 1976,” Surrett chuckled. “We’ve not done anything differently since we started playing together. We just keep doing what we’re doing, and it just seems to get out there to more people — we keep pushing forward.”

“Music is a very powerful thing, it speaks to people, it’s the universal language, and there’s a responsibility with that when you get to the level we’re at.”

Balsam Range receiving an IBMA award in Raleigh (left). Fiddler Buddy Melton (right). (Garret K. Woodward photos)

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Lace up the running shoes, head out the door and get after it

As of yesterday, Monday, Nov. 28, I’ve run 2,525 days in a row. I hadn’t checked in on “the streak” in a while, but was curious at where it stood after coming across a 2021 article for Outside magazine, titled “The Minds and Habits of Master Streakers.”

And here I sit in the newsroom at The Smoky Mountain News. It’s almost noon on Tuesday. We’re currently putting out this week’s newspaper that you’re currently holding or reading online. The USA/Iran World Cup game is in a couple hours, and I’m trying to figure out when I’ll squeeze in a three-mile jog (day 2,526 in-a-row) around downtown Waynesville before I sneak into The Scotsman for a cold beer and large TV showcasing the match (with sound on, which is ideal).

The Outside piece conjured a collage of memories, moments and miles traversed within my mind. Since Dec. 31, 2015, I’ve run at least one mile a day, with, I’d say, an average of around three miles during each excursion. When Dec. 31 appears on the calendar next month, it’ll be exactly seven years since I began this whirlwind odyssey of running, weather conditions, geographical locations, and emotional states of being — all with a healthy dose of pure stubbornness and dogged persistence.

Now, for some background, I’ve been an avid runner since I was 12 years old (37 now). Starting in seventh grade, I ran competitively, racking up blue ribbons and school records all through middle and high school. I kept competing way into college, running D-1 track and cross-country at Quinnipiac University. But, most importantly, many of my lifelong friends were met through these athletic channels.

So, for over a quarter-century, I’ve laced up my running shoes, headed out the front door, and gotten after it, whatever that “is” being a sense of self, a mindset and physical state of being only felt in the midst of a jog to somewhere, anywhere, or nowhere in particular. Running is the one common thread throughout my life that’s remained as vital as ever, this tether reaching the deepest depths of my heart and soul — the ebb and flow of the universe can be felt and witnessed on one simple jog, try it sometime.

Even before I started running, the idea and act of it has always been in my life. A die-hard, perhaps hardheaded runner, my father, Frank, has finished 85 marathons and thousands of road races over the decades,

going all the way back to his years as a track and cross-country athlete in 1950s Upstate New York.

Heck, Frank has run the Boston Marathon 14 times, his best finish being 02:48:15 in 1979. His first Boston trek was 1978, the last in 1999. Once-in-a-while, he’ll saddle up at the start line of the local Turkey Trot or some random race while on vacation in Maine. At age 80, my father still gets up almost every day and goes for a run around the backwoods of the North Country.

In essence, my running streak happened by chance, rather than purposely pushing it as far as I could. I mean, nobody sets out to

HOT PICKS

1Beloved Appalachian storyteller Gary Carden will be telling tall tales from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in the Meeting Room at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

2“One Christmas Night in Memphis” will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

3The final “Art After Dark” of the year will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, in downtown Waynesville.

4A special holiday performance by the Glory String Players will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

5Children’s author Emily B. Martin will read from her new book, “A Field Guide to Mermaids,” at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, in the Community Room at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

out running. I’ll get there when I can. Who cares if it’s below zero and snowing outside? Add on another layer and put on thicker gloves. Who cares if it’s 11:30 p.m.? I got to get the run in to keep “the streak” alive.

At this stage in the game of life, running, for me is a form of meditation, the one part of my day where I’m completely disconnected from technology and interaction, where it’s only me, the sounds of my breathing and footsteps, and the observation of the sounds and sights swirling around one’s current position in that moment of Zen in motion — pure ecstasy with each step forward.

EVENTS

run every day for seven years, let alone for 19,546 days (53.51 years), which is the current active record held by Jon Sutherland, 72, of Utah, who, oddly enough, is also a writer/journalist, one who specialized in rock music. How ‘bout them apples, eh?

Thus, on Dec. 31, 2015, I found myself at my old college buddy’s apartment in Brooklyn, New York. New Year’s Eve and I decided to go for a six-mile run around the hustle-and-bustle borough, ultimately trotting across the Brooklyn Bridge and taking the subway back to Greenpoint.

Before that day, I was running every other day. But, while in Greenpoint, I found that I couldn’t really cross-train, so I just ran every day I was visiting New York City. After a week, I was on the phone with Frank and mentioned how I had run every day for a week. “Ah, that’s nothing, I ran every day for a year. Try and top that,” he muttered in a tone only a father could to his son.

From there, I challenged the old man. Aiming for one year of running every day, I kept at it. Spring, summer, fall, winter. No matter the weather, no matter the circumstance or wherever I may find myself. Who cares if I’m a little late to something? I was

Reflecting back on the last 2,525 days, I can say wholeheartedly that the biggest takeaway are those moments of solitude, where I found myself in these happenstance junctures of my life, in search of a quick place to run while traveling to or from an assignment, while on vacation, or merely driving across America. Find a route on the AllTrails app and pull over before the sun goes down.

I think of that run across the Brooklyn Bridge, and the one across the Golden Gate. I think of that recent snowstorm in the Adirondacks, running in silence along the Bloomingdale Bog Trail, thick snowflakes cascading from above. I think of those runs in Canada, Mexico, the humidity of Florida, dry air of Montana, rainstorms of Virginia, and the sweet ocean scent of Texas, too.

And I think of that happenstance rendezvous with Wilson Lake in rural central Kansas, a bleeding sunset and warm breeze rolling across the Great Plains, a joyous smile rolling across my face as I gazed westward while in motion, smack dab in the middle of America, with nowhere to be and running in my own time — that void of nothing and everything that makes every single mile worthwhile.

Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.

Friday November 25th

Live Music w/Bridget Gossett & Tyler Kirkpatrick

9-11:30 p.m. - Americana - Folk - Blues

Thursday December 1st

Live Music w/ Borderline Band 8-10 p.m. - Traditional Country - Americana

Friday December 2nd

Adamas Ent. presents Jingle Jam Pre-Party Tricia Ann Band 9 p.m. - 12 a.m. - High Energy Rock

Thursday December 8th

Live Music w/ Rene Russel

8-10:30 p.m. - Americana -Rock-World Music

Friday December 9th

Live Music with The Jacktown Ramblers Trio 8-11 p.m. - Bluegrass

Celtic

Sundays

W/The Carter Giegerich Trio - 2-5 p.m. Incredible Celtic Folk - Every Sunday Relaxation Along With Your Guinness! Mon-Thurs: 4PM-12AM

A running route in South Carolina.

(Garret K. Woodward photo)

OCTOBER 2015

It was another banner year for Western North Carolina bluegrass acts at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards in Raleigh last Thursday evening.

Despite torrential downpours, and the possible threat of Hurricane Joaquin making landfall, the annual industry showcase once again brought together musicians, promoters and bluegrass fans alike for a week of memorable moments, onstage and off.

As the reigning “Entertainer of the Year,” Balsam Range watched The Earls of Leicester pick up the honor this year, but the quintet defended their title of “Vocal Group of the Year” and once again brought home “Song of the Year” for “Moon Over Memphis.”

The band also was decorated by Gov. Pat McCrory with “The Order of the Long Leaf Pine,” the highest civilian honor in the state for a proven record of service in North Carolina.

Alongside his awards with Balsam Range, bassist Tim Surrett also won “Bass Player of the Year” and was selected to be the incoming chairman of the IBMA Board of Directors — as much an honor as a responsibility to not only preserve bluegrass music, but also perpetuate it into the next generation of picker and listeners.

“To be recognized by the bluegrass world is one thing, but to be recognized for the charity work we do, it’s just really nice. It means a lot. We give back to the community because we’re part of it. It’s for people we know, people we care about,” Surrett said about the “Order of the Long Leaf Pine.” “I don’t know how someone could say no to someone right in the eye when asked to help out with a charity event. Charity begins at home. We’ve got plenty to take care of in Haywood County and Western North Carolina.”

(Editor’s note: Balsam Range recently raised $10,000 at a benefit for a family who lost their home in a fire.)

OCTOBER 2018

Coming into this year, Balsam Range found itself once again nominated for numerous IBMA honors, this time for four awards:

“Entertainer of the Year,” “Vocal Group of the Year,” “Male Vocalist of the Year” and “Bass Player of the Year.” And for the last three years, the Jerry Douglas-led act The Earls of Leicester had taken home “Entertainer of the Year” (2015-2017).

“It’s just wonderful to still be able to work, to still be in the ring,” Pruett modestly said. “But, the biggest award for me, is to get back out there on the stage with my buddies, pick some tunes again, and leave folks with a warm smile and some good music — that’s the only award I need.”

Right out of the gate of the nationally broadcasted show, Surrett won the first award of the evening, “Bass Player of the Year,” his second time receiving the honor. Not to be outdone, Melton then won “Male Vocalist of the Year,” also his second.

And as the tension in the room wore on leading up the announcement of “Entertainer of the Year,” the final award of the evening, Balsam Range took the stage and performed its latest single, “The Girl Who Invented the Wheel.” Just as the band got offstage, the envelope was ripped open, a raucous audience roaring in cheers and shouts when the new “Entertainer of the Year” was crowned — “And the winner is…Balsam Range.”

“Eleven years we’ve been together, and we are like family. This is the best group of guys, I love playing music with them,” Nicholson said. “This has been an incredible ride, but they’re better people. They’ve been there when it hasn’t been great and they’ve been there when it has been great — and that’s what family does.”

Balsam Range guitarist Caleb Smith. Jeffrey Delannoy photo

Bryson City holiday concert

On the beat Ready for ‘Jingle Jam’?

A special holiday performance by the Glory String Players will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

The Glory String Players is a small Appalachian string ensemble that loves giving back to their community. And during the holidays, it seems like the perfect time to give back.

The group consists of multiple harmonies with instruments, including the dulcimer, guitar, classical violin, band jammer, mandolin, ocarina, glockenspiel, autoharp, djembe drum, and a merlin fourstring guitar.

The event is free and open to the public. The Marianna Black Library, a member of the Fontana Regional Library, is located in downtown Bryson City at the corner of Academy and Rector.

For more information, please call the library at 828.488.3030.

‘One Christmas Night in Memphis’

One of rock-n-roll’s legendary events is being recreated as a musical with “One Christmas Night in Memphis” hitting the stage at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

On Dec. 4, 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, four of the century’s immortals — Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis — engaged in an impromptu jam session. Record producer Sam Phillips recorded the event, which was never to be repeated.

This tribute to that memorable night in Memphis features nationally acclaimed cast members who have an uncanny sound, look and feel of the original legends; the production also features an authentic and energetic rockabilly backup band. You will feel as though you are witness to a rock-n-roll royalty jam session with the legendary performers whose music has stood the test of time.

Tickets start at $25. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.

‘Requiem for the Living’

The Haywood Choral Society will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday Dec. 4, at the Waynesville First United Methodist Church.

This holiday season, the HCS will be performing Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living,” which the highly acclaimed composer distinguishes from traditional requiems, composed originally as masses for the dead. Forrest is a local composer, living and working in Greenville, South

Carolina, whose compositions include choral, instrumental, orchestral works.

In addition, the HCS will perform traditional and contemporary holiday pieces by composers including John Rutter and Bob Chilcott, as well as a gospel rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus.

HCS is funded by the Lake Junaluska Assembly and supported by a grant obtained from the North Carolina Arts Council through the Haywood Arts Council. In addition, the chorus is supported by its “chorus angels.”

Admission is free; donations are welcome. haywoodchoralsociety.org.

A fundraiser for REACH of Haywood, the inaugural “Jingle Jam” will feature a full day of live music and fellowship at the brandnew event space at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville.

Presented by Adamas Entertainment, the event will take place from noon to midnight Saturday, Dec. 3, at 40 Commerce Street. The event will feature an array of acclaimed regional acts, including Abby Bryant & The Echoes (indie/soul), The Get Right Band (rock/jam), Pink Beds (indie/rock), The Jackson Grimm Band (Americana/folk), Arnold Hill (rock), Appalachian Renegades (Americana), and Andrew Scotchie & David Earl (indie/folk).

REACH of Haywood: A local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides aid to survivors of domestic violence, sexual

assault, and elder abuse. REACH offers advocacy, emergency shelter, community outreach, and prevention education to empower individuals to live a self-sufficient life free of violence. For more information, click on reachofhaywood.org.

Admission is $12 per person for “Jingle Jam.” The Fuego food truck will also be onsite at Frog Level. To purchase tickets, you can do so the day of the event or go to eventbrite.com and search “Jingle Jam Waynesville.” Sponsorships and volunteer positions are also currently available. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

A “Jingle Jam” pre-party will be held with the Tricia Ann Band from 9 p.m. to midnight Friday, Dec. 2, at The Scotsman in Waynesville. The pre-party is free and open to the public.

(From left) Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. (File photo)

Abby Bryant. (File photo)

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8 to 10 p.m. every Thursday. Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7 to 9 p.m. every first and third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public. For more information, click on blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host karaoke at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and an “Ugly Sweater Party” 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Orchard Sessions” on select dates. Tickets start at $25 per person. For tickets, click on oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.

• First Presbyterian Church of Franklin will host the “CareNet Benefit Concert” at 3 p.m. Dec. 4. Admission to the concert is free, with a love offering being taken for CareNet. FPCFranklin will match the first $1,000 of donations. The Brasstown Ringers will also perform at 7 p.m. Dec. 10 (free, with donations encouraged). For more information, please contact the church office at 828.524.3119.

• First United Methodist Church (Franklin) will host the Mountain Voices Christmas Concert 7 p.m. Dec. 8. Free and open to the public. Donations encouraged. franklin-chamber.com.

• Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host Darren Nicholson with Tim McWilliams, William Ritter & Audie Blaylock (Americana/bluegrass) 7 p.m. Dec. 13. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. For tickets, click on folkmoot.org.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Bemi Dec. 2, “Jingle Jam” with Abby Bryant & The Echoes (indie/soul), The Get Right Band (rock/jam), Pink Beds (indie/rock),

Arnold Hill (rock/jam), and more from noon to midnight Dec. 3 (admission is $12), WeThreeSwing (jazz) 5:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and Ashley Heath (rock/soul) 7 p.m. Dec. 16. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.

• Frog Quarters (Franklin) will host Dan Watkins & Steve Vick 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 3. Free and open to the public. Located at 573 East Main Street. littletennessee.org or 828.369.8488.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Trivia Night with Kirk” from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday, Open Mic Night every Wednesday, Liz & The Kidd Dec. 1, “Ugly Sweater Holiday Party” w/Shane Meade (indie/soul) 5 p.m. Dec. 15 and J.R. Williams (singer-songwriter) Dec. 16. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” with Hibiscus Sunshine every Wednesday and Calico Bear Dec. 2. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Trivia Night at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, Old Time Jam 6:30 p.m. every Thursday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host Glory String Players (Appalachian/Christmas) at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8. Free and open to the public. 828.488.3030 or fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will

host Open Mic Night w/Ivor Sparks every Wednesday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 6 p.m unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.641.9797 or nantahalabrewing.com.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows behind at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. noc.com.

tickets, click on smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.

• Southern Porch (Canton) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.492.8009 or southern-porch.com.

• Stecoah Valley Center (Robbinsville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.479.3364 or stecoahvalleycenter.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.743.3000 or theuglydogpub.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.526.8364 or theuglydogpub.com.

ALSO:

• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. every Tuesday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.586.1717 or facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.369.6796.

• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host The Carter Giegerich Trio (Celtic/bluegrass) from 2 to 5 p.m. every Sunday, Borderline Band (Americana/country) 8 p.m. Dec. 1, Tricia Ann Band (rock) Dec. 2, Rene Russell (singer-songwriter) 8 p.m. Dec. 8 and The Jacktown Ramblers Trio (bluegrass) 8 p.m. Dec. 9. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.

• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host the “One Christmas Night in Memphis” tribute concert to Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 9. For more information and/or to purchase

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Blackjack Country Dec. 1, Carolina Freightshakers Dec. 2 and GenePool Dec. 3. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.

• Valley Cigar & Wine Co. (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows are at 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.944.0686 or valleycigarandwineco.com.

• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host Kendra Hope Dec. 1, Karaoke with Jason Dec. 2, 6 and 9, and Keil Nathan Smith Dec. 8. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.743.6000 or whitesidebrewing.com.

• Wine Bar & Cellar (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.631.3075 or facebook.com/thewinebarandcellar.

• Yonder Community Market (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. Donations encouraged. 828.200.2169 or eatrealfoodinc.com.

Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2022

HCAC also encouraged participants to create works that celebrate Appalachian heritage and craft.

“Our vision is that this exhibit embodies not only the giving spirit, but also a multicultural spirit that speaks to the diversity of people, cultures, and religions that make up Appalachia,” Beryl said.

A reception for the exhibit will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Gallery & Gifts. For more information, click on haywoodarts.org.

WCU student art exhibit

HCAC ‘Small Works’ showcase

The Haywood County Arts Council’s (HCAC) “Small Works” exhibit will run through Dec. 31 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville. The annual exhibit that expands the types of work for sale in the downtown Waynesville gallery, as well as who can display their work. Other than specially curated exhibits, which occur a couple times annually, this exhibit is the only one that allows any artist within the western mountain region to participate for a small fee.

With dozens of artists participating, the exhibit promises to be eclectic. Although the only requirement is that the pieces be 12 inches or smaller in any dimension, HCAC challenged participants who are making holiday themed works to consider artistic expressions that are multicultural in nature and celebrate the many different holidays, ways of celebrating, and ways of experiencing holidays.

• ArtWagon Mobile Art Studio will be parked from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Franklin. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• “Cultivating Collections: Glass” exhibition will be on display through Dec. 9 in the Fine Art Museum at the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and until 7 p.m. on Thursday. 828.227.ARTS or visit bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

ALSO:

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. For more information on the upcoming classes and/or to sign-up, click on southwesterncc.edu/scc-locations/swain-center.

• Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro will host an array of upcoming art classes and workshops. For more information and a full schedule of activities, click on dogwoodcrafters.com/classes.html or call 828.586.2248.

Western Carolina University will host its annual “Bachelor of Fine Art Portfolio Exhibition” through Dec. 9 at the Fine Art Museum in Cullowhee.

This exhibition gives graduating students in the WCU School of Art and Design the opportunity to share their work with the wider community in Western North Carolina.

Fourteen studio art majors and 16 graphic design majors, all who have followed a rigorous art curriculum during their time at WCU, will share their creations ranging from paintings and book arts to motion graphics and poster design.

The BFA program of the WCU School of Art and Design prepares emerging artists for a career or postgraduate study in art, design, or related disciplines. BFA students gain a foundation in observational drawing, 2D design, 3D design, and art history, and then select a studio emphasis to focus their area of study.

Studio art majors choose an emphasis in painting and drawing, ceramics, photography, sculpture, or print and book arts.

Graphic Design majors explore communication design, interactive media, typography, and motion design, all the while developing professional production skills.

The Bardo Arts Center echoes the WCU School of Art and Design’s goal of preparing students for a career after they have finished their degree. BAC not only works with the students through this exhibition but also through curriculum and performances that enrich their college experience and provide a different perspective on the world around them.

In this exhibition, the students are given the freedom to create, explore their artistic voices, and collaborate with a museum that is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

There will be a reception for the exhibition from 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 1. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be available at the reception. Free parking is available at the BAC lot at 199 Centennial Drive.

To learn more about the exhibition, click on arts.wcu.edu/bfa2022. To see BAC’s full calendar of events, please visit arts.wcu.edu/explore or call 828.227.ARTS.

Waynesville art walk, live music

The final “Art After Dark” of the year will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, in downtown Waynesville.

Each first Friday of the month (May-December), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors.

Participants include Metzger’s Burl Wood Gallery, TPennington Art Gallery, Twigs & Leaves Gallery, Haywood Handmade Gallery, Jo Ridge Kelley Fine Art, Sun Sohovich Art Gallery Studio, Green Hill Gallery, Curatory Gallery, and The Corner Station.

It is free to attend Art After Dark. For more information, click on facebook.com/galleriesofhaywoodcounty.

‘Abduction’ by Elijah Hawkins.

Carden to spin yarns

Beloved Appalachian storyteller, author and playwright Gary Carden will be telling tall tales from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in the Meeting Room at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

The 2012 North Carolina Literature Award winner, Carden has become as iconic as the Appalachian lore he’s passionately written about for decades. He will spend an hour telling fantastically entertaining and educational stories about childhood, family, heritage, and local history.

The event is free and open to the public. 828.524.3600 or facebook.com/maconcopl.

On the table

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines. Educational classes and other events are also available. For more information, call 828.538.0420.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or click on gsmr.com.

Gary Carden. (Garret K. Woodward photo)

On the season

BRYSON CITY

• The 47th annual Bryson City Christmas Parade will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, on Everett Street in downtown Bryson City. Floats, marching bands, fire trucks, Santa & Mrs. Claus, and much more. 828.488.3681 or greatsmokies.com/events.

• “Holiday Market” with local artisans will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Dec. 17 at 117 Island Street in Bryson City. Outdoor event. Leashed pets are welcome. 828.488.7857 or greatsmokies.com/events.

• “Christmas Hayrides Through the Lights” will run on Wednesdays through Saturdays until Dec. 23 at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Enjoy the hayride and a cup of hot cocoa. Limited seating available. Reservations are priority with limited walk-ins. There will also be a “Santa’s Workshop” onsite. darnellfarms.com or call 828.488.2376.

• The popular “Polar Express” train ride will resume rides on select dates from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot in downtown Bryson City. For a complete listing of departure dates and times, call 800.872.4681 or click on gsmr.com.

• “Letters to Santa, Cocoa & Cookies” is now being offered by the Swain County Heritage Museum and Visitor Center in Bryson City. Complimentary hot cocoa and cookies. Kids will love the opportunity to write and mail their letters to Santa. Materials provided, with the last day to submit letters being Christmas Eve. greatsmokies.com.

• “Christmas Lights Drive-Thru” will run through Dec. 31 at the Great Smoky Mountains Event Park (formerly Inspiration Park) in Bryson City. For more information, a full schedule of activities and/or to purchase tickets, click on greatsmokies.com/christmas-light-show-bryson-city.

CASHIERS

• Cashiers Christmas Parade will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. The onemile parade route starts on N.C. 107 South and heads north towards the Cashiers Crossroads where participants are announced to the crowd. The parade then turns left on U.S. 64 heading west, ending at the intersection of Frank Allen Road at the Cashiers Community Center. discoverjacksonnc.com.

DILLSBORO

• Innovation Station will host its “Indoor Holiday Market” from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 3 and 10. Free and open to the public. If you’d like to be a vendor, email beer@innovationbrewing.com. For more information, click on innovation-brewing.com.

FRANKLIN

• “Winter Wonderland Nights” is now underway in Franklin. Downtown will feature living window displays of the holidays, live sounds of the season outdoors at the gazebo and

Dillsboro’s ‘Lights & Luminaries’

The annual “Lights & Luminaries” will return from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 2-3 and 9-10 in the streets of downtown Dillsboro

Experience the magic as the entire town is transformed into a winter wonderland of lights, candles, laughter, and song. Over 2,500 luminaries light your way to shops and studios.

Each night, shops will stay open way into the night providing free refreshments, musicians and singers performing in individual shops. The sound of hooves will echo through the night with old-fashioned horse and buggy rides.

With retail shops offering a variety of quality arts and crafts, unique gifts, clothing, gourmet foods and wine, and specialty Christmas items, the festival also provides a unique holiday shopping experience.

Shopkeepers and restaurants are open late. See Santa and Mrs. Claus as they ride through town in their pickup truck. Write a letter to Santa and drop it off at his special mailbox. Live music on Front Street.

For more information, call 828.586.1439 or click on dillsboronc.info.

inside stores, free holiday attractions (weather permitting), refreshments, hot cider, great sales from local merchants, and much more. The celebration will continue throughout the holidays in December. franklin-chamber.com.

• “Scott Thompson: Christmas Back Home” will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Filling the stage with music, stories, laughs and more, “Christmas Back Home” will kick start your holiday season and have your toes tapping to your favorite Christmas tunes. From blues to reggae and jazz to rock, they’ll turn classic holiday tunes new again with a delightful twist on some well-worn favorites as well as original songs that are sure to become classics. Tickets start at $18 per person. For more information, click on smokymountainarts.com or call 828.524.1598.

• Mountain Voices Christmas Concert will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the First United Methodist Church in Franklin. An evening of Christmas music, both secular and sacred. The performance will include

songs by the full chorus and feature additional instrumentalists. Admission is free. Donations will be collected to support Mountain Voices: a community chorus under the direction of Beverly Barnett and accompanied by Mary Pittman with 50 members from around Southern Appalachia.

LAKE JUNALUSKA

• ”Christmas at Lake Junaluska” will be held Dec. 9-11 at the Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center. Lessons & Carols will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at Memorial Chapel. The service will be led by the Rev. Susan Giles, with music provided by Hilda Ryan and special guest guitarist Mark Shultz for a candlelit singing of “Silent Night.” From noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, board the four-passenger vis-a-vis carriage or eight-person wagonette for a leisurely 15minute ride that offers breathtaking lakeside mountain views and a unique view of the decorated Rose Walk along North Lakeshore Drive. To participate in this activity, reserve your seat online. Stop into Junaluska Gifts & Grounds and the Lake Junaluska Golf Course

Pro Shop, or visit Christmas Memories in historic Lambuth Inn for your last-minute gifts. To book the lodging special, call 800.222.4930. For more information on the Christmas activities, click on lakejunaluska.com/events-calendar/christmas-lakejunaluska.

SYLVA

• There will be a Polar Express and Teddy Bear Sleepover at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, in the Community Room at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Join the event in your PJs and don’t forget your teddy for a fun Polar Express-themed night. After a story, the group will tuck in their teddies for their sleepover. Just don’t forget to pick them up on Friday. This program is free and open to the public. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. For more information, please call the library at 828.586.2016. The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library (fontanalib.org).

• Sylva Christmas Tree Lighting will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, in front of the Historic Jackson County Courthouse on West Main Street. There will also be a Christmas music concert onsite. discoverjacksonnc.com.

• Sylva Christmas Parade will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, on Main Street. The parade takes place along Historic Main Street for celebration, cheer and a chance to see Santa. The floats start at, and end at, Mark Watson Park after a loop through town. discoverjacksonnc.com.

• “Holiday Fireworks” will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, on West Main Street in Sylva. discoverjacksonnc.com.

WAYNESVILLE

• “Strand of Lights” drive-thru light show will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 30 at the Smoky Mountain Event Center (formerly the Haywood County Fairgrounds). Tickets for the nightly show are available online at 38main.com, with only 100 cars per onehour time slot. This helps reduce wait time and traffic congestion for a more enjoyable experience. Admission is $20 per vehicle. The drive-thru winds around the Smoky Mountain Event Center campus for nearly one-mile. Play your favorite carols (and sing-along) as the route takes you past numerous 2D displays, mixed with lighted buildings and holiday experiences throughout.

• Waynesville Christmas Parade will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, on Main Street. Parade starts at First Presbyterian Church and proceeds down Main Street to Bogart’s Restaurant. downtownwaynesville.com.

• “A Night Before Christmas” will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 10 and 17 in downtown Waynesville. Hundreds of Luminaries, live music, clogging, church choirs, Santa & Mrs. Claus, storytelling, holiday treats and beverages, and more. For a full list of participants and events, click on downtownwaynesville.com.

‘Lights & Luminaries.’ (JCTDA photo)

Here’s to inflation-fighting holiday gifts

According to a recent U.S. News & World Report article, “The 15 Richest Counties in the U.S.,” five of these counties are next door neighbors to Washington, D.C. These are the bedroom communities for the capitol, the home of politicians, bureaucrats, lobbyists, and others who have their finger in the federal pie and tell the rest of us how to live.

Some of these are the same folks who brought us our current inflation, Republicans and Democrats, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, all of whom printed out boatloads of money in the last four years and some of whom even today tell the rest of us that inflation really isn’t so bad.

Those who dare utter those words clearly don’t do their own shopping at the grocery store like us peasants. Anybody with eyes to see and half a brain — apparently those are disqualifiers for most of our politicos — has only to push a cart through their local store and look at the prices. (I’ve given up the juice for a bit, allowing my liver to convalesce, but I did notice that the price of my favorite boxed wine has risen not a penny in six months. A blessing on the head of those vintners.)

Some say that with our ongoing supply chain issues, the rise of fuel prices, and a possible diesel shortage, the costs of food will continue to eat up the bucks in our billfolds.

By now, you may be wondering, “Okay, Minick, you’re dragging us down. Aren’t you supposed to be shooting out a book review here?”

I’m glad you asked. Here are some books that will not only help fight inflation, but will also make fine holiday gifts and bring families closer together.

First up is Danielle Kartes’ “My Very First Cookbook: Joyful Recipes to Make Together” (Sourcebooks Explore, 2020, 96 pages). Aimed at kids from pre-school through third grade, this guide to the kitchen and cuisine encourages cooking at home, sharing the pots and pans with the budding chefs in your home, and having some fun together. With sweet pictures by Annie Wilkinson, “My Very First Cookbook” includes more than 45 recipes for such tasty delights as

fluffy lemon and ricotta pancakes, easypeasy tomato soup, turkey pinwheels, and creamy soda fountain egg creams. Instead of trotting the little ones off to some fast food restaurant, teach them to prepare some of these treats.

Canned goods make great inflation fighters, as they’re still generally cheap and can sit on the pantry shelf for years. “A Man, a Can, a Plan: 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make” (Rodale Books, 2002, 43 pages) is aimed at men, right down to the stainresistant pages, and offers easily-prepared recipes that mostly come from a can. But anyone can use this book to put together such dishes as mondo nachos, green grocer goulash, and cowboy stew. David Joachim and the editors of Men’s Health have also produced two follow-up volumes: “A Man, A Can, A Plan, A Second Helping” and “A Man, A Can, A Microwave.”

I’ve used some of these recipes off and on over the years. Are they the equivalent of a gourmet feast? No, but they’re tasty and inexpensive.

Enough about sustenance for the body; now let’s do the same for the heart and soul.

Two of our great American treasures are our public libraries and our bookshops, new and used. There we can browse at our leisure, poking through shelves of novels, biographies, art books, and whatever other topic snags our fancy. The bookshops are ideal places to locate gifts for the holidays, and the libraries provide alternatives to the digital life for the kids, especially over the winter months when snow blankets our mountains and the temperature outdoors is

Are you a fan of mermaids?

as enticing as the inside of a butcher’s freezer.

But what, we might wonder, might be a great read for our high school nephew or a book suited to our 8-year-old sports loving daughter?

Enter Gladys Hunt.

Hunt gave us two books that should be front and center in the home library of every parent and grandparent: “Honey for a Child’s Heart” (Zondervan, Updated and Expanded Edition 2021, 272 pages) and “Honey for a Teen’s Heart” (Zondervan, 2002, 304 pages). Though Hunt died at age 83 in 2010, these two great resources live on, maintained by the publisher and by some of her descendants.

“Honey for a Child’s Heart,” appropriately subtitled “The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life,” aims to inspire parents and guardians in the uses of literature and to act as a guide to hundreds of books, all arranged by topic and geared to the child’s age. Here, for example, we find fiction for the 9-12 year-old gang by authors like E. L. Konigsburg, Scott O’Dell, Beverly Cleary, and Jean George as well as classics by Kipling, Frances Burnett, and James Daugherty. What’s wonderful too is that once your child discovers an author like Katherine Paterson or Theodore Taylor, the library will likely stock other stories by that author as well.

“Honey For a Teen’s Heart” performs the same fine service, giving teens and parents hundreds of ideas for books as well as inspiring them to read in the first place, including tips on how to read a book and how to question what you read.

Hunt also wrote “Honey for a Woman’s Heart,” which would make a great gift for any female from grandma to your fiancée. (Guys might enjoy this one, too, at least surreptitiously.)

A devout Christian, Hunt does include works on Christianity and novels of faith in these lists, but readers of all religious persuasions can find gold in this literary mine.

Here are books that will guide you through the library, but also give you plenty of reading without spending a fortune.

So there you are, some inflation-busting gifts for the holidays.

Enjoy!

(Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” minick0301@gmail.com.)

Children’s author Emily B Martin will read from her new book, “A Field Guide to Mermaids,” at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, in the Community Room at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

As well, Martin will teach attendees how to draw a mermaid. There will also be mermaid crafts and activities for all ages. This program is co-sponsored by the City Lights Bookstore. Books will be available for purchase at the library the day of the program. Free and open to the public.

This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. For more information, please call the library at 828.586.2016. The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library (fontanalib.org).

Writer Jeff Minick

Cashing in on adventure

Outdoor recreation economy launches strong pandemic rebound

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS E DITOR

New data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis show that 2021 was a year of growth for the outdoor economy in North Carolina — but that the industry is still working to make up ground it lost during the pandemic.

Despite challenges related to inflation, workforce and supply chains, total outdoor recreation spending in North Carolina rose 22.6% over 2020 numbers, outpacing the national average of 21.7% growth, according to BEA’s Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account. The industry accounts for 1.8% of North Carolina’s gross domestic product and employs more than 130,000 people. This is 2.7% of North Carolina’s total wage and salary employment and 1.7% of total compensation.

Nationally, outdoor recreation generates $862 billion in economic output, accounting for 3% of U.S. wage and salary employment and supporting more than 4.5 million jobs.

“This new data shows that the outdoor recreation sector continues to be a powerful economic force in North Carolina,” said Amy

Allison, director of the Made by Mountains Partnership. “By investing in public lands and infrastructure, building outdoor-centric communities and supporting outdoor recreation businesses and entrepreneurs, we continue to advance North Carolina’s status as the Outdoor Industry Capital of the East.”

ROBUSTREBOUND

The new data indicate growth in 2021 compared to 2020 numbers. However, the industry has not yet fully rebounded to 2019 levels — in either North Carolina or in the country as a whole.

In 2019, the outdoor recreation industry contributed $459 billion to the U.S. economy, and $12 billion in North Carolina. Those numbers plummeted to $374 billion and $10 billion, respectively, in 2020 and only partially rebounded in 2021, clocking in at $454 billion nationwide and $11.8 billion for North Carolina.

Likewise, while the 130,000 jobs the industry supported in North Carolina in 2021 is an increase from the 123,000 recorded in the 2020 report, it’s markedly less than the nearly 152,000 jobs reported in 2019. In that year, outdoor recreation jobs accounted for 1.8% of North Carolina’s total compensation, more than 2021’s 1.7% share.

However, the momentum is now toward growth. Inflation-adjusted GDP for the

By the numbers

• $11.8 billion in economic value from N.C.’s outdoor recreation industry in 2021

• 130,000 jobs supported by N.C. outdoor recreation industry in 2021

• 11th largest outdoor recreation value of any U.S. state in 2021

• 18.9% inflation-adjusted growth for U.S. outdoor recreation economy in 2021

• 5.9% inflation-adjusted growth for overall U.S. economy in 2021

• 21.6% outdoor recreation economy decrease in 2020

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis 2021 Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account. More information at bea.gov/news/2022/outdoor-recreation-satellite-account-us-andstates-2021.

nation’s outdoor recreation economy increased 18.9% in 2021, compared with a 5.9% increase for the overall U.S. economy. This reflects a rebound in outdoor recreation after a 21.6% decrease in 2020. Real gross output for the outdoor recreation economy increased 21.7%, while outdoor recreation compensation increased 16.2% and employment increased 13.1% compared to 2020.

This upward trend is in full force in North Carolina, which ranked nineth among all states on employment growth with a 13.8% increase, outpacing the 13% nationwide average. The state also outpaced national averages on compensation, with 17.2% in annual

growth compared to a national increase of 16.2%.

North Carolina ranks 11th among the 50 states for total value added by outdoor recreation to the state’s economy. That’s one step down from the 10th-place ranking North Carolina maintained in 2019 and 2020, with the demotion due to a surge in outdoor recreation growth from Indiana. That state ranked 13th in 2019 and 11th in 2020 but rushed forward to claim eighth place in 2021.

North Carolina’s 11th place ranking roughly tracks with its place as the nineth most populous state, but its prominence in the outdoor recreation economy far outstrips its status as the 29th largest state by land area.

KEEPINGTHEGROWTHGOING

There’s no debate that the mountain region is a heavy contributor to North Carolina’s outdoor economy. The region contains two of the most-visited units in the National Parks System — the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway — as well as the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, some of the nation’s most-visited U.S. Forest Service lands.

According to a report from the U.S. Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey, national parks — principally the Smokies and the Parkway — contributed $2.6 billion to the state’s economy in 2021. Park visitors spent $1.7 billion in local gateway towns, and these expenditures supported nearly 25,000 jobs, $871 million in labor income and $1.4 billion in value added, with $2.6 billion in economic output in the North Carolina economy.

But the state’s other regions also draw outdoor enthusiasts. The coastal region offers a bounty of beach and ocean-based recreation and is home to the Croatan National Forest, while the Uwharrie National Forest is located in the Piedmont. State parks, game lands and other public lands can be found throughout the state.

According to the BEA data, North Carolina saw tremendous growth in value added from RV use between 2020 and 2021, with a 20% increase, and unsurprisingly an even bigger increase in value added from festivals and amusements parks compared to 2020, when pandemic restrictions were in full force. Festivals, sporting events and concerts contributed nearly 50% more to the economy in 2021 than in 2020, with amusement parks and water parks posting a 44% increase.

“Conventional” outdoor recreation like biking, boating, hiking and hunting saw a more modest 17% year-over-year increase, but these activities were less impacted by pandemic restrictions. Supporting activities like construction, travel and tourism, local trips and government spending grew 21%.

Cycling, boating and fishing, canoeing and kayaking, hiking and camping, hunting, shooting and trapping, and other outdoor recreational activities have

A cyclist goes bike packing on Ivestor Gap Trail in the Pisgah National Forest.

all seen consistent year-over-year growth in economic impact and participation, said Allison. This includes impressive gains from 2020 to 2021 as access, opportunities and statewide outdoor investment have expanded.

Formed in 2021, Made By Mountains is a partnership focusing on the outdoor economy in the western part of the state, working to expand this economic sector across North Carolina’s Appalachian region and catalyze regional development by building vibrant communities, driving outdoor industry growth and empowering regional storytelling.

It’s currently in the midst of a two-year program called Building Outdoor Communities that aims to help individual communities foster collaboration and expertise to meet their outdoor economy goals. More than 130 people from 25 western counties met in Boone for a kickoff event in September. Now, the counties have

been divided into three cohorts that will spend the coming years understanding what their outdoor-based economy needs to function and how to put those pieces together. Allison expects the effort to extend beyond the initial two years — she sees that time period as the first step of an ongoing process to support WNC communities as they “connect the dots between trail and economic development.”

“The Made By Mountains Partnership will continue to work to support the growth of the outdoor recreation economy so that the outdoor sector remains a pillar of the region’s economic prosperity,” she said.

“Access to public lands is fundamental for economic vitality, as well as communities’ and residents’ health and wellness. Outdoor recreation continues to be a driving force for entrepreneurship, workforce development, talent retention and recruitment, and the cultivation of thriving outdoor recreation communities.”

Mary Stewart, Owner Remodels |

Wildlife photo contest open

The Wildlife in North Carolina Photo Competition is now open, accepting entries until 5 p.m. Jan. 31, 2023.

Sponsored by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, the contest is open to amateur and professional photographers of all ages, except employees of the Wildlife Commission, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and their immediate families. Entrants must subscribe to the Wildlife in N.C. Magazine or be younger than 18.

Photographs taken since Sept. 15, 2018 are eligible. Categories are birds, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, animal behavior, outdoor recreation, wild landscapes, wild plants and fungi, and youth categories in age divisions 13-17 and 12 and under.

Photos of captive native animals are allowed but not photos of captive, non-native animals. Photos of domestic animals participating in an outdoor activity with people are acceptable.

A panel of professional photographers and staff from the Wildlife Commission and Museum of Natural Sciences will judge the entries. In each category, first prize is $100, second is $75 and third is $50. The grand prize-winner receives $200 and his or her photo on the cover of the July/August 2022 issue of the magazine.

Submit entries online at ncwildlife.org/contest.

Forest conservation advocates honored

Winners of EcoForesters’ Annual Awards were announced this month, celebrating achievement in ecological forestry and highlighting important issues that the region’s forest face — and the people making a difference.

■ Author and conservationist Doug Tallamy received the 2022 Root Cause Award for his commitment to natural communities and the benefits they provide.

“His writings and approach help the public better understand the connection between active stewardship and the ecosystem services that are taken for granted,” reads a press release announcing the award.

■ John Ager, longtime conservation landowner and state representative, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his commitment to conservation and natural communities.

“Ager’s efforts to permanently protect farmland and his commitment to community service have benefited Western North Carolina and beyond,” the press release says. “His faith shown through his works and the example he has set over a lifetime is why we honor him this award.

■ Tuckaseegee residents Mark and Lisa Yeager received the 2022 EcoForester of the Year Award for their demonstration of ecologically beneficial forestry. Mark Yeager has improved his family’s land in Tuckaseegee through active stewardship, converting a white pine plantation into a

stand of mixed hardwoods by planting oaks, transforming a monoculture into a more desirable and diverse wildlife habitat.

“His devotion and planning are exemplary of what is needed to restore and sustain healthy, vibrant forests,” the release says.

EcoForesters is a non-profit forest management group in Asheville whose mission

is to conserve and restore Appalachian forests through education and stewardship.

Almost 70% of the forests of Western North Carolina are privately owned, yet fewer than 25% have a management plan. In the absence of planning, forests are subject to invasive species, development pressures and weather extremes as a result of climate change.

Andy Tait presents Mark Yeager (left) with the EcoForester of the Year Award. Donated photo

Joyce Kilmer trail reopens

The Joyce Kilmer National Recreation Trail in Graham County is reopen after more than two years of closure.

In February 2020, significant rainfall caused the retaining wall on the lower left loop segment of the trail to fail, and a tem-

porary closure order was issued. Now repairs have been completed, and the trail reopened Nov. 19.

For more information, contact the Cheoah Ranger District at 828.479.6431.

Get a status update on hemlock conservation

Learn about the current state of hemlock conservation in Western North Carolina during a presentation 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Spring Creek Community Center in Haywood County.

Offered by the Hemlock Restoration Initiative, the talk will share what HRI and its partners are doing to protect these important trees, and how landowners and the public can get involved. Learn more at savehemlocksnc.org.

PARTF funds grow Pisgah View State Park

The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority, which oversees the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, recently approved $17.4 million to fund nine capital improvement projects and six land acquisitions for North Carolina state parks.

“These land acquisition and park improvement projects will both expand our state parks system and repair and restore facilities and trails for the benefit of the people of North Carolina as well as visitors to our state,” said N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary D. Reid Wilson. “We are grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Cooper for providing significantly increased investments in the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund over the last two years.”

Funded projects include $300,000 to purchase a 1.7-acre inholding for the new Pisgah View State Park. Last year, the state legislature appropriated $12.2 million to complete funding for the $18.2 million purchase of 2.5 square miles of former ranch property, which straddles Haywood and Buncombe counties. The inholding purchase funded through PARTF includes a house and lands that protect water quality at stream frontage.

Other projects include $249,000 to renovate the mountaintop sewer system at Chimney Rock State Park and connect it to the city sewer system, $1.1 million for trail maintenance throughout the parks system and cost sharing for recreational trail projects, $3.25 million for major maintenance projects statewide and $400,000 for planning projects including a master plan for Pisgah View, small area plans at parks and a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation plan.

These are only the answers.

Cherokee women honored for name restoration efforts

Tribal members Lavita Hill and Mary Crowe have received an Attorney General’s Dogwood Award from N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein for their work to restore the traditional Cherokee name to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In July, the Cherokee Tribal Council approved a resolution to advocate for the name change. The current name refers to Thomas Clingman, who was a U.S. senator representing North Carolina at the time the peak was named in 1859. Afterward, Clingman left the Senate to fight for the Confederacy, rising to the rank of brigadier general.

The traditional Cherokee name, Kuwohi, means “mulberry place.”

“Lavita and Mary are working to make

Talk trout in Sylva

sure that their tribe’s history is recognized and honored,” Stein said. “They are advocating to restore the name Kuwohi, which means Mulberry Place, from Clingman’s Dome, which was named for a Confederate general. In doing so, their efforts will help to commemorate the long history of the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina.”

Hill and Crowe are two of seven people to receive a Dogwood Award from Stein. Having the name changed will require an application to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which must vote on the matter. That board has not yet received an application, according to a spokesperson. A change.org petition created by Hill currently has 2,117 signatures.

By Holly Kays, outdoors editor

Bone up on wreath-making

Learn now to make a Christmas wreath during a demonstration offered at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

Minda Daughtry of the Jackson County Extension Agency will show attendees how to make a wreath using natural materials. This is a demonstration, not a workshop, and no registration is required. Co-sponsored by Friends of the Jackson County

Public Library. For more information, contact 828.586.2016 or jcpl-adults@fontanalib.org.

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The Jackson Arts Market takes place from 1-5 p.m. every Saturday at 533 West Main St. in Sylva with live music and an array of local artists. Jared Smith ‘Blue’ will play Oct. 22, Taylor Knighton will play Oct. 29, Wooly Booger will play Nov. 5, Clayton Justice will play Nov. 12.

• “Art After Dark” will be held from 6-9 p.m. each first Friday of the month (May-December) in downtown Waynesville. For more information, go to facebook.com/galleriesofhaywoodcounty.

H OLIDAYS

• Dillsboro Lights and Luminaries will take place 5-9 p.m. Dec. 2-3 and 9-10. There will be live music, visits with Santa, shops and restaurants open late, and free old-fashioned buggy rides.

• Santa will be in town 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Cullowhee Rec Park Pavilion. Bring your Christmas list for Santa and get a picture with him. For more information contact Joe Lyon at joelyon@jacksonnc.org or 828.293.3053.

• Holiday Tour of Homes, a self-guided driving tour, will take place 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, in Canton. Nine festively decorated homes are on the tour and can be visited in any order. Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased at any home on the tour. All proceeds from the tour help fund the scholarships from the Miss Labor Day pageant. For more information contact Carole Terrell at 828.593.8428 or carole_terrell@yahoo.com.

• Cookies with Santa will take place at 10 a.m. Dec. 6, at the Macon County Public Library in the living room area by the fireplace. There will be a reading of The Night Before Christmas and some caroling. For more information call 828.524.3600.

• Holidays at the University Center will take place 4-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at the AK Hinds University Center at WCU. Build a buddy, custom mug, hot cocoa ornaments and Santa paws. Get a holiday pass for $15. For more information visit dcc.wcu.edu.

• Smoky Mountain Christmas Light Spectacular will take place 6-10 p.m. Nov. 10-Dec. 31, at the Great Smoky Mountain Event Park. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays in November, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. BrysonCityChristman.com

B USINESS & E DUCATION

• NCWorks Job Search Assistance will be held 1:15-4:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at the Waynesville Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Receive help with your job search, resume-writing, and more. No appointment necessary. For more information, call 828.456.6061 or visit ncworks.gov.

FUNDRAISERS AND B ENEFITS

• Tye Blanton Foundation and Central United Methodist Church will host a blood drive 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Central United Methodist Church in Canton. For more information visit redcrossblood.org.

• New blankets can be dropped off at the Mountain Projects Office, 2177 Asheville Road in Waynesville, or online purchases can be shipped directly to the agency through Dec. 23, for the annual Blanket Drive. Financial contributions towards winter heating bills can be made online at mountainprojects.org/giving or checks can be sent by mail. Annotate checks with “Winter Warmth.”

• This holiday season the Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society is hosting its 6th annual “Stuff the Stockings”

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com

for more than 120 animals currently in its care. For more information visit chhumanesociety.org or call the shelter and adoption center at 828.743.5752.

CLUBS AND M EETINGS

• The Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society will hold its Holiday Party, “Mountain Holiday Traditions” at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1, at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center, 45 East Ridge Drive, in Bryson City.

• The Canton Branch Creative Writing Group meets 10:30 a.m.-noon on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. For more information, email Jennifer at jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2561.

K IDS & FAMILIES

• ecoEXPLORE: Mammalogy will take place 4-5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Library. Get an up-close encounter with animal artifacts, like tracks, scat, and fur samples in this program about mammals in Western North Carolina. Ideal for all ages. For more information or to register, contact Ashlyn at ashlyn.godleski@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2567.

• Yoga for kids of all ages will take place at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, and Wednesday, Dec. 21, at the Macon County Library. Bring a yoga mat if you have one, mats will not be provided. For more information call 828.524.3600.

• Move and Groove Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Thursday, at the Canton branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Exciting, interactive music and movement story time ideal for children 2-6 years old. For more information contact Ashlyn at ashlyn.godleski@haywoodcountync.gov or at 828.356.2567.

• Mother Goose Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Wednesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children from birth to 2 years old. For more information, contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.

• Wiggle Worms Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Tuesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children 2-6 years old. For more information contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.

• Storytime takes place at 10 a.m. every Tuesday at the Macon County Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• Toddler’s Rock takes place at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Macon County Library. Get ready to rock with songs, books, rhymes and playing with instruments. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

Library. All materials provided. For more information, or to register, contact Kathy at kathleen.olsen@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2507.

• Haywood Choral Society will perform Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living,” in addition to other traditional and contemporary holiday pieces at 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Waynesville First United Methodist Church. Free, donations are welcome. For more information, visit haywoodchoralsociety.org.

• Storytelling with Gary Garden will take place 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in the meeting room of the Macon County Public Library.

• Karaoke takes place at 7 p.m. every Friday at the Meadowlark Motel in Maggie Valley. Call 828.926.1717 or visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• Paint and Sip at Waynesville Art School will be held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7-9:30 p.m. To learn more and register call 828.246.9869 or visit PaintAndSipWaynesville.com/upcoming-events. Registration is required, $45.

• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon-4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood St. in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods. Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.

F OODAND D RINK

• BBQ and Live Music takes place at 6 p.m. every Saturday at the Meadowlark Motel. Call 828.926.1717 or visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• Take a trip around the world with four different wines every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday 11a.m.-6 p.m. at the Bryson City Wine Market. Pick from artisan Charcuterie Foods to enjoy with wines. 828.538.0420

• Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.

CLASSESAND PROGRAMS

• Watercolor Class will take place 1-3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Learn watercolor techniques with artist Joan Doyle. For more information or to register, contact Jennifer at jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov.

• “Spice It Up!” a monthly spice celebration series will take 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Waynesville Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. This month learn about Szechuan Peppercorns. Attendees will receive spice sample and will be taste testing. For more information, or to register, contact Kathy at kathleen.olsen@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2507.

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for:

n Complete listings of local music scene

n Regional festivals

n Art gallery events and openings

n Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers

n Civic and social club gatherings

• Wired Wednesday, one-on-one technology help is available at 3-5 p.m. every Wednesday at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Library. For more information or to register, call 828.648.2924.

• Uptown Gallery, 30 East Main St. Franklin, will be offering Children’s Art Classes Wednesdays afternoons. Adult workshops in watercolor, acrylic paint pouring, encaustic and glass fusing are also offered. Free painting is available 10 a.m.-3 p.m. every Monday in the classroom. A membership meeting takes place on the second Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. All are welcome. Call 828.349.4607 for more information.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES

• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m.3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. 828.349.4607 or pm14034@yahoo.com.

Outdoors

• Old Saint Nick will visit Chimney Rock State Park in Rutherford County 8-11 a.m. Saturdays, Dec. 3 and 10, practicing his chimney-climbing game on the iconic rock as Christmas festivities abound. The event is free with park admission.

• Hike from Greenspire Road to Woodfin Cascade on Dec. 4, with the Haywood County Recreation and Parks. The route is 1.64 miles with an elevation gain of 374 feet. All hikes are $10. Sign up at bit.ly/haywoodrec.

• Hike from Balsam Gap Ranger Station to Standing Rock Overlook on Wednesday, Dec. 7, with the Haywood County Recreation and Parks. The hike has an election gain of 1,302. All hikes are $10. Sign up at bit.ly/haywoodrec.

• The Haywood Waterways Association’s annual membership dinner will take place 5:45-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Lambuth Inn at Lake Junaluska. Dinner is $25 per person, with a registration deadline of Thursday, Dec. 1. RSVP to Christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 828.476.4667, ext. 1.

A&E

• Learn the basics of reed weaving and create a festive reindeer decoration 2-4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at the Waynesville Branch of the Haywood County Public

• Greenies Art Hour will take place 9:30-10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for adults with disabilities. For more information or to register contact jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2561.

• Chess 101 takes place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. every Friday in the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. No registration required, for more information call 828.648.2924.

• Hike along Hemphill Bald Trail from Sheepback to Gooseberry Knob on Wednesday, Dec. 14, with Haywood County Recreation and Parks. The hike is 5.7 miles with an elevation gain of 1,412 feet. All hikes are $10. Sign up at bit.ly/haywoodrec.

• Tickets are now on sale for Winter Lights, an open-air walk-through light show of more than 1 million lights running Nov. 18-Dec. 31 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville. Ticket prices range from $30 to $60 per car depending on the date and entry time, with members receiving a $5 discount. Flex tickets are $75. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit ncarboretum.org/winter-lights.

MarketPlace information:

The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 copies across 500 locations in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, including the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. Visit www.wncmarketplace.com to place your ad!

Rates:

• $15 — Classified ads that are 25 words, 25¢ per word after.

• Free — Lost or found pet ads.

• $6 — Residential yard sale ads.*

• $1 — Yard Sale Rain Insurance Yard sale rained out? Call us by 10a.m. Monday for your ad to run again FREE

• $375 — Statewide classifieds run in 170 participating newspapers with 1.1+ million circulation. (Limit 25 words or less)

• Boost Online — Have your ad featured at top of category online $4

• Boost in Print

• Add Photo $6

• Bold ad $2

• Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue Highlight $4

• Border $4

Note: Highlighted ads automatically generate a border so if you’re placing an ad online and select a highlight color, the “add border” feature will not be available on the screen.

Note: Yard sale ads require an address. This location will be displayed on a map on www.wncmarketplace.com p: 828.452.4251 · f:828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com www.wncmarketplace.com

NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION

Case No.22-E-653 Mary Q. Welch aka Mary Noland Welch, having

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

trained,

... Provides EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES to develop skills and learning with highly trained mentors promoting staff empowerment. Employment, volunteering, shadowing and internships are available in a variety of career choices that include health care, therapy, dietary, food service, nutrition, grounds keeping, maintenance and management. We offer health benefits, PTO, education assistance, and many incentives. ... On Site Certified Nursing Assistant Course and Entry Level Geri-Tech positions are available to get started

• Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com

Beverly Hanks & Associates- beverly-hanks.com

• Billie Green - bgreen@beverly-hanks.com

• Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com

• Anne Page - apage@beverly-hanks.com

• Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com

• Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com

• Ellen Sither - esither@beverly-hanks.com

• Mike Stamey - mikestamey@beverly-hanks.com

• Karen Hollingsed- khollingsed@beverly-hanks.com

• Billy Case- billycase@beverly-hanks.com

• Laura Thomas - lthomas@beverly-hanks.com

• John Keith - jkeith@beverly-hanks.com

• Randall Rogers - rrogers@beverly-hanks.com

• Susan Hooper - shooper@beverly-hanks.com

• Hunter Wyman - hwyman@beverly-hanks.com

• Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff@beverly-hanks.com

• Darrin Graves - dgraves@beverly-hanks.com

Emerson Group - emersongroupus.com

• George Escaravage - george@emersongroupus.com

• Chuck Brown - chuck@emersongroupus.com

ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com

• Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com

• Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com

• Randy Flanigan - 706-207-9436

• Steve Mauldin - 828-734-4864

Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com

• The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

Lakeshore Realty

• Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com

• Lyndia Massey- buyfromlyndia@yahoo.com

Mountain Creek Real Estate

• Ron Rosendahl - 828-593-8700

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management

• Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

Premier Sotheby's International Realty

• DeAnn Suchy - deann.suchy@premiersir.com

• Kaye Matthews - kaye.matthews@premiersir.com

RE/MAX Executive - remax-waynesvillenc.com remax-maggievalleync.com

• The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com

• Ron Breese - ronbreese.com

• Landen Stevenson- landen@landenkstevenson.com

• Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

• Mary Hansen - mwhansen@charter.net

• David Willet - davidwillet1@live.com

• Sara Sherman - sarashermanncrealtor@gmail.com

• David Rogers- davidr@remax-waynesville.com

• Judy Meyers - jameyers@charter.net

Rob Roland Realty

• Rob Roland - 828-400-1923

Smoky Mountain Retreat Realty

• Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com

• Sherell Johnson - Sherellwj@aol.com