News
-
Welcome new GSMA Team Member Aaron Searcy
Join us in welcoming Aaron Searcy, who joined the Great Smoky Mountains Association team in January as the new publications associate. A writer, editor and occasional farmhand based in Knoxville, Aaron comes to us fresh from a stint abroad in Australia, where he earned a master’s degree in writing, publishing and poetry from the University of
Read more...
-
GSMA Nominated for Three PLA Partnership Awards
It’s our great pleasure to announce that three Great Smoky Mountains Association projects are in the running for Partnership Awards, a program of the Public Lands Alliance.
The Partnership Awards celebrate the best in public lands partnerships, recognizing individuals, organizations, publications, products, programs and services that embody
Read more...
-
Great Smoky Mountains Association Chooses Sue Wasserman for 2020 Writer's Residency
Great Smoky Mountains Association has announced Sue Wasserman of Burnsville, North Carolina, as the winner of the second annual Steve Kemp Writer’s Residency. A GSMA member, Wasserman learned about the residency from GSMA’s digital newsletter, the Cub Report. Recently she has written two articles for Smokies Life magazine focused on the artists and artisans of the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community.
Read more... -
Behind-the-scenes of a Smokies Life Cover
The cover of the Fall 2019 issue of Smokies Life features a man who, for many, was the face of the Smokies for more than four decades as he hosted nearly half a million overnight guests on the park’s third-highest peak. We interviewed David Brill who wrote the cover story, Dan Thompson who took the cover photo (could he be related to Jim Thompson?), and, of course, Mr. Le Conte himself, Tim Line, about how it all came together.
Read more... -
Great Smoky Mountains Association Marks 2020 with Calendar Showcasing Historic Photographs
GATLINBURG, TN (November 15, 2019) — Great Smoky Mountains Association (GSMA) is proud to present its 2020 Great Smoky Mountains National Park wall calendar, a look back in time through the lenses of gifted Smokies photographers from the pre- and early-park eras. Featuring historic photos carefully selected from park and regional archives, the 12-month calendar shares images taken by such noted photographers as Jim Thompson (1880-1975), Doris Ulmann (1884-1934), George Masa (1881?-1933) and Carlos Campbell (1892-1978).
Read more... -
Full moon and cloudy sky can play tricks
By Charlene Shiver
Marketing and Membership Associate
Saturday, 9:32 p.m. – A dark shadow slowly made its way across the scarred floor of the old church….
Read more... -
Back of Beyond Wins Thomas Wolfe Literary Award
The Western North Carolina Historical Association has named Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography the winner of the 2019 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Written by George Ellison and Janet McCue, edited by Frances Figart and published by Great Smoky Mountains Association, the book is the 64th winner of this annual recognition of distinction for qualifying works of fiction, nonfiction, drama or poetry.
Read more... -
Gatlinburg’s Artist Community in New Smokies Life
The idea for a series of stories about artists in park gateway communities came to us via Kathie Thomas of Gatlinburg’s HighLand Craft Gallery. Her objective was simple: share about the crafts of local families whose artisan heritage stretches back to pre-park days. I loved the idea and enlisted Sue Wasserman to do the research and writing.
Read more... -
National Park Dedicates Dean Stone Bridge
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials unveiled a bronzed marker along the Foothills Parkway at the newly dedicated Dean Stone Bridge between Walland and Wears Valley.
Read more... -
Cucumber Gap Loop inspires parental guidance
By Karek Key
I had just come off of a really bad and frustrating weekend of parenting. It was Labor Day, and we had way too many plans and stretched ourselves way too thin. After a lot of stimulation and not enough sleep, it all exploded on Monday. Whining, tears and mysteriously vanished listening skills all resulted in me overreacting and yelling. All in all, we were not at our best selves.
Read more...
