Tag: History
-
Permanent Camp: Rugel's Ragwort
Story by George Ellison with image by Elizabeth Ellison
This is the story of Rugel's ragwort (Rugelia nudicaulis)—one of the most rare and interesting plants in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park—and its eccentric namesake, the German-born plant collector Ferdinand Ignatius Xavier Rugel.
In 1840, Rugel (1806-1879) came to the
Read more...
-
"Learning Is Still Alive and Well at the Little Greenbrier School" in Smokies Life Fall 2020
Besides supporting Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the many perks of a Great Smoky Mountains Association membership is a subscription to Smokies Life magazine. Below is a sneak preview of one of the features in the upcoming fall issue. Become a member by July 15 in order to receive a copy in the mail.
In 1881,
Read more...
-
“Into the Land of Forgetting” by Allison McKittrick in Smokies Life Fall 2020
Besides supporting Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the many perks of a Great Smoky Mountains Association membership is a subscription to Smokies Life magazine. Below is a sneak preview of one of the features in the upcoming fall issue. Become a member by July 15 in order to receive a copy in the mail.
Some of the earliest
Read more...
-
Playtime in the Smokies
By Mike Aday, Librarian/Archivist
Keeping children occupied during our current situation takes creativity and ingenuity. With the shift to online learning, parents also want ways to limit screen time and provide variety.
Perhaps looking at what children in Appalachia did for fun a hundred years ago can give us some ideas. What kinds of games
Read more...
-
Smoky Mountain Air podcast series becomes GSMA’s latest storytelling tool
While working from home the past two months, GSMA’s Creative Team has explored and developed some great new ways to help interpret our park’s cultural and natural history. Today, we are launching the latest of these: Smoky Mountain Air.
Hosted by Videographer and Publications Associate Valerie Polk and Senior Publications
Read more...
-
After Thought: Evan O. Hall, an Original Genius
By George Ellison
Back in the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century, America specialized as a nation in producing a special breed of citizen popularly categorized as an “original genius”; that is, they were folks self-reliant, indefatigable, and exceeding clever when it came to improvising and making do with little
Read more...
-
The Other Horace
By Ben Anderson
Horace Kephart is remembered for being an ardent and effective advocate of a Smokies national park—an important role most recently and thoroughly explored in Back of Beyond, a Kephart biography by Janet McCue and George Ellison. But there was another Horace who was more directly involved in the actual shaping of the park:
Read more...
-
Smokemont’s Previous Life
By Ben Anderson
Driving into Smokemont Campground, you may find it hard to imagine that it’s ever been anything but a recreational playground.
Situated along pristine Bradley Fork on a gently sloping expanse and framed by high ridges, Smokemont does seem to be an ideal setting for the largest camping area on the North Carolina side of the
Read more...
-
Like a Bridge Over Sparkling Mountain Waters, This Should Ease Your Mind
By Steve Kemp
Since I started researching the role of John D. Rockefeller Jr. in helping create Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one friendship I discovered never ceases to cheer me.
When Rockefeller made the $5 million ($74 million in today’s dollars) contribution to match the funds raised in North Carolina and Tennessee to purchase
Read more...
-
What Horace Kephart Can Teach Us About Solitude, Simplicity, and Stillness
By Frances Figart
“Mountains! Think of them; speak of them; look upon them!... Here they are in all their majesty and abundance.”
These words were written in 1905 by Isaiah Kephart, who supported his son Horace in a retreat from society at a difficult time. They are words that could easily be said aloud by any of us as we look
Read more...
