September 2018
News and Happenings from
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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Fun Fact About Our New Website:
When our new website launches later this month, our Fall Foliage Reports will be available to all site visitors. Look for our first entry before the first day of fall, which this year is Sunday, September 23.
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Park VIPs
earn regional
recognition
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Volunteers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park have received regional recognition through the George and Helen Hartzog Awards Program for Outstanding Volunteers.
Volunteer-In-Park Charlie Chmielewski was honored with the National Park Service Southeast Region Enduring Service Award for his dedicated volunteer service with the park’s Fisheries Division since 1993.
In addition, a cadre of volunteers known as the “Laurel Falls Rovers” (pictured below with several park employees) were recognized with the NPS Southeast Region Outstanding Volunteer Group Award due to their commitment to visitor service and resource stewardship.
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Pictured from left are Supervisory Fisheries Biologist Matt Kulp,
Lori and Charlie Chmielewski, Fisheries Specialist Caleb Abramson, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash.
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I had No Idea
The most important Smokies author
you’ve never heard of
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By Michael Aday
Librarian-Archivist
Collections Preservation Center
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
You may be familiar with Ron Rash, the author of the novels
Serena
and
The Risen
, as well as Charles Frazier, who wrote
Cold Mountain
.
But have you heard of Mary Noailles Murfree? How about Charles Egbert Craddock? The last was a trick question since Charles Egbert Craddock was actually the pseudonym used by Murfreesboro, TN, native Mary Noailles Murfree (1850-1922).
In a writing career that began in 1874 and continued until her death in 1922, Murfree published dozens of short stories and novels depicting life in the American South. In 1878
The Atlantic Monthly
published her first short story set in Southern Appalachia “The Dancin’ Party at Harrison Creek.” She continued to write and publish under her pen name throughout her career ...
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It's sorghum-making time
in the Smoky Mountains
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Fall is just around the corner. Click on the image above to learn more about how, on the mountain farms that once populated the Great Smoky Mountains, this time of year meant sorghum cane harvest. Not to be confused with molasses (which comes from sugar cane), sorghum syrup is created from the cooked juices of the sorghum cane.
Cades Cove Sorghum Demonstration Dates
September 1, 2 and 3 (Labor Day)
September 14, 15 and 16
September 21 and 23
November 9, 10, 11 and 12 (Veteran’s Day)
November 16, 17 and 18
November 23, 24 and 25
Mountain Farm Festival's sorghum demonstration
at Oconaluftee Visitor Center is Saturday, September 15
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While you're visiting Cades Cove's sorghum-making demonstration, be sure to check out the new water wheel recently restored at Cable Mill. Standing at 11 feet tall and with a water-catching width of 4 feet, a wheel of this type can be expected to operate for up to 20 years before it needs to be replaced.
Park service preservation and maintenance crews were able to restore the Cable Mill water wheel thanks to funding from Friends of the Smokies. Click on the top image to watch our video of the work being completed. Be sure to watch Valerie Polk's video all the way to end to experience the exciting results of this monumental effort!
Great Smoky Mountains Association team members demonstrate for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year how the mill operated prior to the establishment of the national park. Additionally, they share historical and educational information about the mill's importance to the Cades Cove community.
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We're about to
rock your world!
Take our geology quiz
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This month, we'll look at the unique geological history of the Smokies. Our quiz features 10 questions related to general geology and the geology of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Thanks to our friends at the University of Tennessee Press, most of our questions come from their book
A Roadside Guide to the Geology of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
.
Our quiz winner will be selected at random from all who answer the following questions correctly by September 21. We'll mail to you a copy of above book along with a
Pocket Naturalist Guide: Geology.
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Charlies Bunion is one of the Smokies' most recognizable rock outcroppings.
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Locally Grown
I'm getting
schooled at EYS
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By Peyton Proffitt
Over the next several months, I plan to focus my Cub Report
column on details related to my sessions with Experience Your Smokies, an educational program that receives essential funding and scholarships each year from Great Smoky Mountains Association.
Since 1999, Experience Your Smokies has fostered a greater appreciation for Great Smoky Mountains National Park by offering opportunities for community members to engage with park personnel on issues of mutual interest. Their goal is to engage community leaders with multiple hands-on experiences.
As a member of this year’s class, I attended my first EYS session last month. My classmates and I visited the Appalachian Club House – built in 1910 – at Elkmont and met with the heads of the park’s Facility Maintenance division and Trails and Facilities Volunteer Programs. The largest in GSMNP, the Facility Management division employs 80 permanent staff and oversees fleet management, 238 miles of paved roads (and counting), 537 structures, and 4,847 gravesites.
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Image by Jessica Hill with Shutterfox Photography
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Tag monarchs with us in Cades Cove
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Monarchs are the only known butterfly species to make a true migration in North America. Many of the monarchs we see traveling through East Tennessee are on a 2,000-mile journey to spend winter among forests high in the mountains of Mexico.
Our monarch tagging programs presented by naturalist Wanda DeWaard (pictured, bottom right) are designed to get you involved by collecting data that will help scientists answer questions on the origins of monarchs that reach Mexico, the timing and pace of the migration, mortality during the migration, and changes in geographic distribution.
Learn more by clicking on the date you are interested in joining. But don't delay. These popular sessions fill fast each fall.
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New for members:
Auto-Renew!
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Auto-renewal is now available for members on our website, through the mail and when you call in to renew by phone. Just check the box online or through the mail, and we'll do the rest. Getting, and STAYING, rooted in the Smokies matters.
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Little Sluice of Heaven
Balsam Mountain Trail
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By Lisa Duff
After traversing the lower section three times, I dreamed for the next three years of finally hiking the upper section of Balsam Mountain Trail. I finally got my chance this past July.
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*Dry Sluice: Named for a small hollow or valley called a sluice, which has a spring-fed stream that sinks beneath the surface for several hundred yards before re-emerging. Hence, the upper part of the sluice is generally dry. - From
Place Names of the Smokies
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Big Bend Killing
is up
for two IBMA awards
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Congratulations to GSMA's
Big Bend Killing for earning two International Bluegrass Music Association award nominations.
First, for graphic design, our own Karen Key's work on the CD cover and liner note pages has been recognized by IBMA for excellence. Additionally, East Tennessee State University professor Ted Olson is recognized for authoring the liner notes themselves, which provide readers with scholarly details around the Appalachian ballad traditions.
Awards winners will be recognized for their exemplary work and contributions to the bluegrass industry during a ceremony in Raleigh on September 27. Best of luck, Karen and Ted! You're both winners in our eyes.
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Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition will be featured on this weekend's Inside Appalachia radio broadcast. Click
HERE for detail on how to listen.
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Community in
the Wilderness
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In what is shaping up to be one of our best-attended events ever, this year's Great Smoky Mountains Association Members Weekend will officially kickoff Friday, September 14, at Fontana Resort and Marina, which is located on the park's southwest corner. A full weekend of activities is planned for the 160+ participants scheduled to attend, including five pontoon tours of the scenic lake area.
While registration for this year's event is closed, GSMA members are invited to Save the Date for 2019. Our Tennessee event will be held somewhere around the second week of September.
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Bicycle the Cove
carfree
this month
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Cades Cove Loop Road is a popular bicycling area inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It provides bicyclists with excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing and touring 19th century homesites.
From early May until late September, the loop road is closed to motor vehicle traffic on Wednesday and Saturday mornings until 10 a.m. to allow bicyclists and pedestrians to enjoy a
carfree ride.
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So oil your chain and head for the Cove this September.
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Science at Sugarlands:
Butterflies, Caterpillars
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By Frances Figart
Julie Elliott (right) fell in love with caterpillars when visiting her sister who collected and raised monarch butterflies. Looking for caterpillars on her sister's Ohio property, Julie happened to see a caterpillar that looked just like a browned leaf edge. It was the Black-Blotched Schizura… and she was hooked.
Now retired from Scripps Networks Interactive (creators of HGTV and the Food Network), Julie refers to herself as a “citizen scientist who specializes in caterpillars.” She is billed as a Lepidopteran specialist in Discover Life in America’s promotions for the Science at Sugarlands series of talks. Hers on "Butterflies and Caterpillars in the Smokies" is slated for September 21 at 1 p.m. at the Sugarlands Visitor Center.
FF: What does it mean to be a Lepidopteran specialist?
JE: I’m a person who studies Lepidoptera, the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera includes the complete life cycle from egg to larva (caterpillar) to pupa and finally adult.
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Shop the Smokies!
All purchases support the national park
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Smokies Life
to highlight Foothills' 'Missing Link'
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Active Great Smoky Mountains Association members should look in late September for your complimentary
Smokies Life magazine to arrive in the mail. In it you'll enjoy stories about the Foothills Parkway's 'Missing Link,' how this national park tracks its black bears, Discover Life in America's 20th anniversary, and a rescue story on Old Settlers Trail.
If you're not a member (YET), you can purchase a copy at the cover price of $9.95 at any park visitor center later this month. All purchases (and memberships) support the national park.
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Toe-covering weather
is around the corner
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By now you've heard that wearing white after Labor Day has been officially OK'd by the International Fashion Police, right? Well, I'm here to tell you it's also acceptable to wear Great Smoky Mountains National Park warm and cozy socks with sandals at anytime of year. Our socks are available in men's and women's sizes, and feature our iconic black bears. Find them at a park visitor center or call us at 865.436.7318, Ext. 226 to order yours today.
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Add these new colors
to your mug collection
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Sassy cranberry. Peacock blue. Forest moss. The names tell the story of our new line of Great Smoky Mountains National Park mug collection. Made in the USA by the fine folks at
Deneen Pottery, these mugs will brighten your kitchen, while their contents will warm your heart with each sip.
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Forest friends make the best friends
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Trust Us: Your children (and grandchildren) will jump at the chance to put down their devices and play with their new forest friends from the Great Smoky Mountains. Our finger puppets are designed for hours of imagination-building fun, whether they're flitting from flower to flower as a hummingbird or bugling like bull elk.
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Until our online store is available later this month, please call us at 865.436.7318, Ext. 226 to order these and all our Ranger-Approved products.
All purchases support the park.
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Partner News: Tremont Institute
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Welcome to the Smokies, Catey
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Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont has named Catharine (Catey) Terry its new president and chief executive officer. Her first day on the job will be Tuesday, Sept. 4.
Most recently chief financial officer for SOAR, an accredited ADHD adventure camp and year-round academy in North Carolina, Terry (right) replaces Jen Jones, who resigned earlier this year.
"We are pleased and excited to have found a new leader with the capability and enthusiasm of Catey," said Tremont
Board President Elizabeth Estill
. "She embodies the spirit of Tremont and its commitment to connecting people and nature. She has a clear understanding of our mission and her background is a natural fit. We look forward to having her on board."
A Tennessee native, Terry grew up making mud pies and climbing trees. She formed an early connection to the outdoors and first attended Tremont Institute in the sixth grade. She later reconnected with Tremont while sending her son to Firefly Camp.
Inspired by her time in nature, Terry received a bachelor of science in ecology and environmental biology from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.
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She then completed an internship with the Fisheries Department in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hiked 400+ miles of the Appalachian Trail.
"It is an honor to lead an organization that allows me to witness people, of all walks-of-life, as each discovers and develops their own connection to nature and to the park," Terry said. "I look forward to working with and learning from the passionate staff and dedicated board members as we focus on the growth of this remarkable organization. This is an exciting time to be at Tremont, and I am grateful to be a part of its future!”
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Partner News: DLIA's Salamander Ball
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Salamander Ball
is set for October 5
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Discover Life in America invites you to join in the fun at its annual fundraising event, the Great Smoky Mountains’ Salamander Ball, held at Zoo Knoxville Friday, October 5, from 5-9 p.m.
The family-friendly fun includes…
- Local wine and beer, as well as plenty of non-alcoholic options, and tasty hors d’oeuvres catered by Holly’s Eventful Dining
- Jazzy live music
- A silent auction as unique as the Smokies themselves
- Fun in the zoo’s Kids Cove
- Science Stations for the whole family to learn about biodiversity studies in the park
- Announcement of an incredible milestone of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory
- A Smokies Critter Parade, with a special appearance by “Big Red,” the giant salamander!
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National Park visitation to date
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Will Great Smoky Mountains National Park retain the title of 'Most Visited National Park' in 2018? Only time will tell...
January - 320,864
February - 399,156
March -
689,235
April - 820,657
May - 985,145
June - 1,414,214
July,
1,468,273
Total for 2018 = 6,097,571
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2017 visitation through July: 6,102,937
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Shop our Lookout League
Business Partners
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Partner of the Month:
Congratulations to
Nantahala Brewing Company on their recent announcement that they plan to open a new locations in Asheville and Sylva, N.C. Originally located in downtown Bryson City, N.C., just a short walk from our visitor center, NBC has been a long-time supporter of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and GSMA. We wish them luck on their latest endeavor.
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The most recent issue of
Smokies Guide
, Great Smoky Mountains National Park's official park newspaper, is available to read online and can be mailed to you for free (S&H charges apply). Call 865.436.7318, Ext. 226 for mailing details.
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Great Smoky Mountains Association's Cub Report e-newsletter is published on or about the last Wednesday of each month, with the exception of January.
These talented individuals contributed to this month's issue:
Laurel Rematore, Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Duff, Cub Report Editor
Contributors this month were Michael Aday, Frances Figart, Sarah Kirkland, Dana Murphy, Valerie Polk and Peyton Proffitt
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Got questions? We've got answers
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Share your thoughts on this issue
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In addition to our web store, Great Smoky Mountains Association operates 12 visitor contact stations in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
GSMA staff members are always available to help you find educational materials guaranteed to enhance your park experience. When you stop by, be sure to tell our team how much the Cub Report means to you!
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Clingmans Dome Information Center (above) is our park's highest-elevation visitor center and GSMA-operated store.
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Save with our card when you visit other
national parks, too.
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Great Smoky Mountains Association
Connecting Today to Yesterday.
Preserving Today for Tomorrow.
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