Mountain Life Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum in Oconaluftee Area of Great Smoky Mountains national park

In the upper elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains national park there is a touch of color and the heat has broken and even in the valleys the heat of summer has been broken so the annual Mountain Life Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum in Oconaluftee is right around the corner.

Come to the farm museum on Saturday September 19th from 10 am to 4 pm and learn why leather britches are not pants, what carding means when it has nothing to do with ID and what it's like to make your own soap while listening to great Appalachian style music - all for free!

While I am sad to see what for me signals for me the end of summer, this is one annual event in the Great Smoky Mountains national park I have not missed for years.

The location of the Farm Museum is perfect in beautiful green valley alongside the Oconaluftee River surrounded by low mountains that will only have a hint of color just a minute inside the park boundary at Cherokee.

Expect the hands of time turn back more than a hundred years and see interesting live demonstrations by park staff and volunteers such as lye soap making, hearth cooking, food preservation, broom making, quilting, blacksmithing, chair bottoming, along with apple butter and apple cider making. You will get to sample warm cider too!

A special edition this year to help celebrate the parks 75th anniversary is a showcase Appalachian folkways along with historic artifacts and photographs from the national park's collection will also be on display to help pay tribute to the former resident who lived where the park now stands.

Corn husk dolls, hominy making, old time toys and other interesting demonstrations about what home life was 100 years ago in the Great Smoky Mountains will be going on around the farm museum.

You can also learn about the more than 40 types of apple tress the Cherokee and the early settlers grew from Ron and Suzanne Joyner from Big Horse Creek Farm in Ashe County, NC. When I interviewed them in the past they were a wealth of knowledge and they presently have a nursery with more than 300 varieties of custom-grafted heirloom apple trees.

In the farm itself, you can watch an almost 40 year old tradition of the Great Smoky Mountains national park: the making of sorghum syrup. The Appalachian early settlers did not have table sugar and they grew their own sorghum and with a horse-powered cane mill and wood-fired cooker made this important food stable.

Students, staff, and volunteers from Swain County High School through a cooperative agreement with Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains Association will be feeding the press which is pictured above and making the sorghum syrup.

Through all the celebrating at the Mountain Farm Museum in Oconaluftee, don't miss the musical entertainment by Marshall Crowe and the Bluegrass Singers.

Bedsides the event, take some time to stroll down the Oconaluftee River hiking trail which is one of the 2 trails in the park that allows well behaved leashed dogs and stroll around the farm with its historic buildings and picturesque landscape.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Parks 75th Anniversary Rededication and Newfound Gap: Great Memories for a Lifetime

I have been waiting for this day when the Great Smoky Mountains National parks would have a rededication ceremony and the Roosevelt Monument at Newfound Gap in celebration do the parks 75th Anniversary for years, and with all my expectations I can't believe I was not let down.

This dedication ceremony was to be a modern day interpretation of the 1940 dedication event in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which was attended by president FDR, was the grand finale of the major events the GSM national park was hosting for the 75th anniversary of the formation of this park.

Almost 2,000 people attended the Rededication Ceremony held at the Roosevelt Monument which straddles the Tennessee and the North Carolina border in the Newfound Gap parking area of the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Many of those who attended this historic event have deep roots in the Smoky Mountains and most of them where either born in what was to become the Great Smoky Mountains national park or are descendants of those who lived here.

Some of those very hardy men who built the Great Smoky Mountains national parks trails, bridges and roads who were members of the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) attended this event.

By now these men have become old familiar faces to me as they have been guests of honor numerous here in the past year such as at the CCC dedication ceremony at the Sugarlands Visitor Center where a plaque honoring the Civilian Conservation Corp was unveiled and at the groundbreaking for the new Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

As with all the other ceremonies, CCC corpsman Clarence Allison, the 3rd man down in the picture below wore his original uniform and hat.

Today some of those who were here for that historic occasion 75 years ago proudly wore ribbons as well as those who lived in what is now the park and those who built the roads, bridges and more than 800 miles of hiking trails that crisscross the park.

Lots of changes have occurred in the Great Smoky Mountains the past 75 years since the men on the CCC help turned it into the land stunning place it now is and most have them have been for the good of the national park.

Technology allowed us to make cell phone calls, check our email, update our Twitter accounts or transmit a signal via satellites so that people outside the park could see what was going on. Just think at the 1st dedication in 1940 wire was run in trees and across bushes and up the mountains in order to transmit this historic occasion.

75 years ago when 100 old Gudger Palmer (pictured above) was only 25 and lived in Cataloochee North Carolina, there used to be barely any black bear, wild turkey and white deer inhabiting the area which just became the Great Smoky Mountains national park. These and many other animals now flourish and even the casual observer in the park should see them most of the year.

Then there are the animals that have been wiped out of existence in what was once more than 6,000 private tracts of lands. Today the park service has brought the river otter, peregrine falcon and my favorite: the North American elk back into this area and they are all now thriving in this beautiful biosphere.

While this was a day for historic speeches made by politicians promising to make things better and of course the thrill of seeing Dolly Parton perform live, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park itself was the star of the day.

As our bus pulled up past the rain clouds up to the Newfound Gap Parking area, a lone tree just below the road displayed red and yellow tinges on some of its leaves - a gentle sign of fall color that would soon grace the Smoky Mountains.

As we disembarked from the shuttle the cooler air laced with the smell of fir washed over us moved the 3 American flags and the North Carolina and Tennessee state flags on top of the Roosevelt Monument wave in the wind. The only other decorations were 7 white and blue banners draped over the monument which also came alive as the wind came across the gap.

Sure the 75th anniversary of the original dedication of the Great Smoky Mountains national park was a great opportunity for politicians to press flesh with constituents and get to work in some impressive sound bites, nothing could beat the parks performance as the weather cleared up just as the program began and deteriorated with clouds moving in as Dolly Parton closed the event with her last song.

I had been waiting for this event for years all the while reflecting how wonderful this park is and I was not disappointed. I guess I must now look forward to the 100th anniversary dedication and hope that I will still be hiking as I do now in my 70s and reveling in the Great Smoky Mountain national parks beauty.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Rededication Tickets Are Sold Out

The free tickets to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th anniversary rededication to take place at Newfound Gap on September 2nd 2009 are already all gone.

As we predicted there was an enormous response by the public to get their hands on these coveted tickets for this historic event and those who have already contacted the National Park for tickets either via email or by phone will be notified if they will get tickets to the event that will be issued on a first come first served basis.

Unfortunately just because you requested tickets via Email or by telephone before the GSMNP stop taking any more requests does not guarantee you will be able to get tickets. Some news sources reported 2,000 tickets were available to the public but the actual number is far lower based upon the large dignitary and guest list as well as media which will be covering the event.

Great Smoky Mountain National Parks 75th Anniversary Celebration Continues with Oconaluftee Visitor Center Ground Breaking.

Tomorrow will be the Great Smoky Mountains national parks actual 75th anniversary and what better way to celebrate than to have the public be able to join in with a celebration at the Oconaluftee visitor center and Farm Museum? From 10 am to 2 pm there will be demonstrations, music, storytelling, dancing and a ground breaking on the new state of the art visitor center.

Long overdue, the new energy efficient visitor center will be more than 6 times larger that the present visitor center built in the 1940s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which was originally used as a ranger center. The new visitor center will have a museum with displays of the history and traditions of the Cherokee people, Southern Appalachian culture, the and the Park's establishment and development.

Around 2,000,000 people a year pass by Oconaluftee to get into the Great Smoky Mountains national park with nearly 350,000 visitors presently entering the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and Farm Museum area. The original building will be kept when the new visitor center is complete.

Besides the entertainment, the Park has extended a special invitation to all former CCC members who served at Great Smoky Mountains National Park to attend the groundbreaking and some are expecting some to attend.

Dale Ditmanson the parks superintendent commented "We are excited about the opportunity to hold the visitor center groundbreaking during our anniversary year and are especially honored to have several CCC men who assisted with the construction of the existing visitor center over 65 years ago. This project will represent a symbolic bridge between the past and the future of the national park".

The ground breaking ceremony hosted by Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson will also include Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Michell Hicks, and Cherokee Elder Jerry Wolfe giving the "Blessing of the Ground".

The schedule for the 75th anniversary celebration at Oconaluftee 2 miles north of the Cherokee North Carolina Parks Entrance is also follows:

• 10 am - Music performed by Boogertown Gap
• 11 am - Warriors of AniKituhwa: Official Cherokee cultural ambassadors performing traditional dances including the War Dance and Eagle Tail Dance
• 11:30 am - Storytelling by Charles Maynard
• 12 pm - Groundbreaking Ceremony
• 1 pm - Music played by Earl and the Boys

Thanks to 2 fantastic organizations: the Friends of the Smokies and the Great Smoky Mountains Association the buildings and exhibits have been funded.

Both Friends and the GSMAs work and the funding make this and many projects possible within the Great Smoky Mountains national park and it is impossible for me to accurately state how much they mean to the park, the surrounding communities and me personally.

I am very grateful that Oconaluftee will finally be honoring in a significant way the Cherokee and Native Americans who have inhabited the area for more than 10,000 years.

Cades Cove Concert: 40% chance of wash out.

Tomorrow a much anticipated event will helpfully take place in the Cades Cove, the crown jewel of the Great Smoky Mountains national park; the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will perform to a crowd of around 5,000 spectators to celebrate the parks 75th anniversary. There will also be special exhibits and programs on the history of Cades Cove.

The concert will take place at 3 pm near the Cades Cove Visitor Center in the back end of Cades Cove where there is very limited parking on asphalt and since there is no shelter from rain for performers and visitors and most of the cars will have to be parked on grass fields, even wet grass can become a parking and driving nightmare.

According to 3 Smoky Mountains weather reports the consensus is that there will be a 40% chance of rain with a slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning and a greater chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Thunderstorms + Open Fields with spectators = canceled event.

Unfortunately if the even gets canceled there is rain date or refunds.

Around 200 more vehicle passes are still available at $25 a pieces and can only be purchased and picked up today between 9 am - 5 pm at the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra box office located at 100 South Gay Street in Knoxville.

Laurel Creek Road will be closed tomorrow at noon to anyone without a vehicle pass or who is not a registered camper at the Cades Cove Campgrounds. This means you will not gain access to the following trail heads:

• Anthony Creek Trail
• Bote Mountain Hiking Trail
• Crib Gap Hiking Trail
• Finley Cane Hiking Trail
• Schoolhouse Gap Hiking Trail
• Turkey Pen Ridge Hiking Trail

Cades Cove will be closed all day to bicycles and pedestrians.

According the GSM national parks superintendent Dale Ditmanson "in the interest of avoiding a premature and unnecessary cancellation of the concert, the final decision may be delayed until the very last possible moment". Since we will be covering the event we will not be able to give out updates about potential cancellations but if cancellation is imminent the hot line phone number (865)436-1316) will be activated and we are told that www.GreatSmokies75th.org will have up to date concert information.

Let's hope the weather in the Smokies cooperates for the 75th anniversary celebration of the Great Smoky Mountains national park in Cades Cove.

Clingmans Dome Road will close today until Tomorrow evening for GSMNP 75th

A Governors' Proclamation Ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains national park attended by state officials from Tennessee, and North Carolina, local counties and municipalities as well as tourism representatives and conservation associations will require that Clingmans Dome Road to be closed from public visitors access from 7 pm today until 5 pm tomorrow afternoon.

Conspicuously absent from this historical occasion kicking of the parks 75th anniversary will be Governor Beverly Perdue from North Carolina.

The hiking trails on an around Clingmans Dome Road will remain open to hikers including the Appalachian Trail which goes up to Clingmans Dome Observatory Tower and runs down along Clingmans Dome Road

All trailheads along Clingmans Dome Road will not have vehicle access as long as the road is closed. Hikers would be able to park or get picked up at the Newfound Gap Parking Area which will be more crowded than usual. A better alternative is to avoid the area.

The 75th anniversary celebration will be ongoing throughout the year and the kickoff open to the public will take place as a ticket event in Cades Cove June 13th at 3:00 pm. Since Cades Cove has such limited parking and access a vehicle access pass will be entered the Cove at that time. As of this morning good number of tickets for this event are still left and can be obtained by calling (865) 291-3310. More information can be found at The Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestras web site.

Your Smokies News will be at the Governors Proclamation Ceremony at Clingmans Dome and will reporting live as long as the spotty wireless signal holds up.

Dolly Parton is the Great Smoky Mountains national parks 75th Anniversary Ambassador

The Great Smoky Mountains national park could not have picked a better ambassador for their 75th anniversary than local celebrity and philanthropist Sevierville Tennessee's own Dolly Parton.

Most anyone who thinks about the Smoky Mountains thinks about Dolly Parton as the face of the Smokies and as the official Park's 75th Anniversary Ambassador, Dolly's name and her image will be used at a variety of GSM National Park events, activities and on informational media.

According to Dolly Parton "The Smokies are part of my DNA...I have always been an Ambassador, but I am particularly honored to become "official" for this special 75th Anniversary."

Getting Dolly Parton to be the Ambassador was an obvious choice and the announcement of Dolly Parton being the ambassador for the Great Smoky Mountains national park was made by the superintendent Dale Ditmanson who stated "When we first sat down with our park partners and began brainstorming about how the Park's anniversary could best gain national stature we asked ourselves: ’If we could pick one person who is the most recognized and personifies the love of the Smokies, who would it be?’ The answer was a resounding ’Dolly Parton!’ But she's so much in demand; do you think she'll do it?"

In order to get Dolly Parton on board the Dollywood Foundation was contacted by Friends of the Smokies and the rest is history.

If Dolly's participation was not enough, Dolly Parton has graciously written an entire album entitled "Sha-Kon-O-Hey" and the rights of this album are being donated the Great Smoky Mountains National Park through the Friends of the Smokies during the 75th anniversary year. Bravo!

"Sha-Kon-O-Hey" is the phonetic spelling for the Cherokee word, "Shaconage" which is how the Cherokee described the Great Smoky Mountains translated as "Land of the Blue Smoke". Shaconage is also the name of the Friends of the Smokies publication.

Another great organization which Your Smokies supports which helps the park: The Great Smoky Mountains Association will be offering a 125 page souvenir 75th Anniversary edition of Smokies Life magazine will find a personal message from Dolly Parton that reads "The Smoky Mountains have inspired me and my music since I was a little girl. They touch my soul and lift my spirits. Let's celebrate America's most popular national park, but most especially, join me in making sure its magnificent beauty thrives for generations to come."

Bravo on the choice Dale, bravo on bringing it together Friends of the Smokies, and Dolly - no one will ever be more Sweetheart of the Smokies than you are!

Guided hike at the Kephart Prong Trail to the CCC Camp.

Yesterday was the start of the Great Smoky Mountains national parks salute to the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which started with a guided hike by veteran park ranger Brad Free and the park volunteer who maintains this historic trail.

While weather was concern, real rain never materialized and the whole hike was chock full of demonstrations, facts, historic photographs and group discussions.

Now I am on my way to the Sugarlands when there will be an all day program to salute the CCC. I come to have with even appreciation of the hard work these young men did to build the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Civilian Conservation Corps being honored at the Great Smoky Mountains national park

The Sugarlands visitor center in the Great Smoky Mountains national park near the Gatlinburg Tennessee park entrance will be where the monumental programs commemorating the 75th Anniversary Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and their work will be held from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm on September 27th.

Along with the dedications, musical entertainment, panel discussions and lectures at the Sugarlands visitor center, both the Oconaluftee visitor center near the Cherokee North Carolina entrance of the park as well as the Sugarlands visitor center will have special CCC exhibits.

By now you may be wondering what the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was. The CCC is a perfect example of the long lasting effect that a quality socially responsible government program can have.

Established in 19333 during the Great Depression the CCC was a federal work project aimed at conservation work on federal and state lands while employing unmarried, unemployed, men that were physically fit and from18 to 25 years of age. I have been told that some as young as 15 were able to sneak into the program.

No only where these men able to scratch out a few dollars for themselves which they mostly sent home to their families, they were able to learn valuable skills and gain experience all the while improving the quality of public lands throughout the United States.

Look around in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and almost everything you see that is man made was originally built by these hard working hardy men. Hiking as much as I do in the park I can come back after a long day completely drained and I was just hiking on a trail, not building it rock by rock by hand.

This picture shows workers from the CCC working on the Bull Head Trail. This hiking trail starts in the Roaring Fork Area of the park near Gatlinburg and climbs all the way up to Mount Le Conte. Taking the Bull Head Hiking trail up and retuning back down via the Rainbow Falls trail is my favorite way to climb Mt Le Conte.

The roads and bridges in the Great Smoky Mountains were also built by the CCC. The beauty of the hand cut blocks of stone that make up the bridges and guard rails in the GSMNP blend incredibly well with the natural backdrop of the park. Some of the buildings such as the park headquarters near Gatlinburg and the Oconaluftee visitor center were also built by the CCC along with the fire and lookout towers.

All this work was done by close to 4,000 members of the CCC brigade who resided in 22 work camps within the confines of the park from 1933 - 1942.

Once I understood what these men in the CCC have done, not a day goes by when I am in the park I don't marvel at the hard work that they have done that we can appreciate 75 years later and for many more years to come. There blood sweat and tears that built this place bring untold happiness and joy that come here in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Sugarlands Visitor Center CCC Programs 9-27-08

The activities will include interpretive programs, a panel discussion, and musical entertainment at the Sugarlands Visitor Center with two hikes scheduled in other areas of the Park. The schedule includes:

• 10:00 am: "That Magnificent Army of Youth and Peace: The CCC in the Great Smoky Mountains" by Dr. Harley Jolley
• 11:00 am: "Dollar-a-Day Boys: A Musical Tribute to the CCC" by Bill Jamerson
• 12:30 pm: Dedication of memorial plaque to the CCC
• 1:00 pm: "That Magnificent Army of Youth and Peace" by Dr. Jolley
• 2:00 pm: "CCC Fire Tower Construction in the Smokies" by Charles Maynard
• 3:00 pm: 1 hour panel discussion with former CCC workers, moderated by Erik Kreusch the GSMNP archaeologist

Beside these programs there are 2 moderate guided hikes planed to take you the location of CCC camps in the Great Smoky Mountains national park:

• Friday, September 26 at 10:00 am Kephart Prong trailhead off Newfound Gap Road US441 in North Carolina
• Saturday, September 27, at 1:00 pm Staring at the Sugarlands Visitor Center and hiking up along the Old Sugarlands Trail.

All of the activities commemorating the CCC in the Great Smoky Mountains national park are free and open to anyone.