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Black Mountain and the Swannanoa Valley
North Carolina's magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains have drawn people to the Swannanoa Valley since the beginning of time. Rivers and forests lured early hunters and gatherers; later inhabitants tilled the rich, fertile soil and logged the thick forests on the mountainsides. People also came to the mountains to enjoy the mystical beauty and enchantment of the area, the cool, crisp climate, and the sparkling waters of brooks and streams. Hiking, camping, and the tranquility of a woodland world provided escape from city life. The Swannanoa Valley is cradled between the Craggy Mountains to the north and the Swannanoa Mountains to the south. Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in America east of the Mississippi River, rises majestically nearby. Among the early visitors who decided to settle in the valley were those who purchased the land that later became the sites of the famous conference centers in the area-Montreat, YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly, and Ridgecrest-and businessmen, who brought industry to the area.
Even As We Breathe
Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his hometown of Cherokee, North Carolina, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. When a summer job at Asheville's luxurious Grove Park Inn and Resort brings him one step closer to escaping the hills that both cradle and suffocate him, he sees it as an opportunity. The experience introduces him to the beautiful and enigmatic Essie Stamper—a young Cherokee woman who is also working at the inn and dreaming of a better life. With World War II raging in Europe, the resort is the temporary home of Axis diplomats and their families, who are being held as prisoners of war. A secret room becomes a place where Cowney and Essie can escape the white wor...
Beacon Blankets
The largest blanket manufacturer under one roof in the United States by 1920 was the Beacon Manufacturing Company, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and later of Swannanoa, North Carolina. Cotton, wool, and blended blankets came off their looms in plain, geometric, and Indian designs by the millions. They were sold at dry goods stores and large orders were filled for American troops in the World Wars. This book displays a large selection of Beacon blankets and color catalog pages from 1917 to 1957, together with original blanket designs, a history of the company, advertisements, and all the Beacon labels. There are special sections on crib blankets, bathrobes using Beacon fabric, related blankets, and Skookum Indian dolls dressed in Beacon remnants. These blankets are diligently searched for by collectors of folk art and textiles because they represent a nearly-lost chapter in textile history and bring a sparkle of color to interior decoration.
The Juan Pardo Expeditions
Provides English translations of selected passages from the expedition accounts of sixteenth-century explorer Juan Pardo in the Carolinas and Tennessee, and includes interpretations of Pardo's routes and encounters with native peoples.
Swannanoa
The name Swannanoa derives from a Cherokee word meaning "beautiful river." The beauty and abundance created by the river and surrounding mountains drew Native Americans for hunting. In the 19th century, the Davidson and Alexander families developed Swannanoa's infrastructure, establishing farmsteads, gristmills, lumber mills, and general stores. Families soon flocked to the area, traveling west from the coast and piedmont to escape the sweltering summer heat. The arrival of the railroad in 1879 funneled tourists and permanent residents into the town. One of these, E.W. Grove, who built the well-known Grove Park Inn in nearby Asheville, also designed America's first planned community, Grovemont-on-Swannanoa. Industry came as well; the Beacon Blanket Manufacturing Company was built in 1925. The mill was the center of community in Swannanoa, providing employee housing and many other amenities as well as sponsoring sports teams, music gatherings, and holiday celebrations for over 75 years. Swannanoa showcases the rich history of this North Carolina mountain town; it truly is the "land of the sky."
Mountain Homespun
“Mountain Homespun will be of special interest to those studying southern Appalachian handicrafts, the 1890s handicraft revival, and northern Protestant missionary work in turn-of-the-century Appalachia.” —North Carolina Historical Review “Mountain Homespun is much more than a memoir. It offers unrivaled specific information on the processes of mountain crafts—not only on weaving, spinning, and dyeing, the author’s primary interest, but also on basketry, quilting, and other pursuits. All in all, the book is an important publishing event.” —Berea College Newsletter “This is a wonderful book. It belongs at the bedside of every spinner and weaver everywhere.” —Jude Daurelle, Handwoven
Remembered for Love
Lao Russell was an entrepreneur, philosopher, teacher, and writer whose work touched the lives of thousands of individuals worldwide. Her rise to prominence began in England, where she was born Daisy Cook. A child of modest circumstances, she was brilliant and gifted, and built a fortune by direct marketing cosmetics and health products. She embraced a glamorous lifestyle in the company of movie stars and millionaires. Emigrating to America, she increasingly sought to fathom her spiritual side, but this lifelong quest was not completed until she met Walter Russell, a notable physicist, sculptor, philosopher, and the subject of Glenn Clark's book, The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe. Together, the Russells devoted themselves to spreading universal truths of love and light to students around the globe. The couple founded the University of Science and Philosophy at Swannanoa, an Italianate palace atop the Blue Ridge overlooking the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Asheville
Native American tribes, including Cherokee, Creek, and Shawano, passed through Asheville and Western North Carolina, building towns and villages along the banks of the Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers for more than 1,000 years. The first white settlers arrived in the Swannanoa Valley in October of 1784. After the Civil War, Asheville became a haven for the wealthy elite of Charleston and Philadelphia; as the resort era blossomed, so too did Asheville. Second only to Miami in its treasure trove of Art Deco landmarks, Asheville is an architectural and historical time capsule of national significance. It is a community with a rich heritage and history in the arts, including textiles, pottery, and modernist art. Today Asheville is at a crossroads; attempting to balance the environmental and natural attractions of the area with commercial development is and will be one of Asheville's greatest challenges.
Murder at Asheville's Battery Park Hotel
Did the phrase "That's what I was wondering..." solve a murder? In the morning hours of July 16, 1936, Helen Clevenger's uncle discovered her bloodied body crumpled on the floor of her small room in Asheville's grand Battery Park Hotel. She had been shot through the chest. Buncombe County Sheriff Laurence Brown, up for reelection, desperately searched for the teenager's killer as the public clamored for answers. Though witnesses reported seeing a white man leave the scene, Brown's focus turned instead to the hotel's Black employees and on August 9 he arrested bell hop Martin Moore. After a frenzied four-day trial that captured the nation's attention, Moore was convicted of Helen's murder on August 22. Though Moore confessed to Sherriff Brown, doubt of his guilt lingers and many Southerners feared that justice had not, in fact, been served. Author Anne Chesky Smith weaves together varying accounts of the murder and investigation to expose a complex and disturbing chapter in Asheville's history.
