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JANUARY 2011 |
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 | Explore the Swannanoa Valley with Us this Winter
On Saturday, January 22nd, we are celebrating the beginning of 2011 with our popular Depot to Depot hike. We will meet at 9:30 AM at the Black Mountain train depot to view the documentary Daylight Enters Buncombe County,
then carpool to the top of the Kitsuma Trail in Ridgecrest. We will
hike down the mountain along the Point Lookout Trail to the train depot
and Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort. Cost is $20 for Museum
members/$30 for non-members. Proceeds from the hike will benefit
both the Swannanoa Valley Museum and the Old Depot Association.
Cemetery Tour
On Sunday, February 6th, we have created a brand-new daycation
to explore the history of the Riceville area, the westernmost part of
the valley. The tour will begin at the Riceville Presbyterian Church’s
sanctuary at 2:00 PM and then continue into the historic heart of the
valley. Participants will hear stories about Riceville’s founders and
their descendants, many who still call Riceville home. The tour includes
stops at two cemeteries, several log cabin ruins, historic businesses
and post offices, and Camp Awaniko. The tour will end at the Riceville
Fire Department and Community Center’s Riceville history exhibit. Cost
is $10 for Museum members; $20 for nonmembers.
Rim Hike Series
And on Saturday, February 19th, our popular Swannanoa Rim Hike Series
begins with the Rhododendron Rim segment, which runs from Wendell
Begley's home on Sunset Mountain to Route 9, and passes through property
once owned by Rafael Guastavino II, a Biltmore architect who built his
own estate in Black Mountain called Rhododendron.
Held the 3rd
Saturday of every month, this series of 11 hikes takes participants
along the entire 31 miles of the rim of the Swannanoa Valley.
These hikes offer spectacular views of “Eastern America's Highest and
Most Historic Skyline.” Space is limited, so please contact the Museum if you wish to join one or all hikes on the series.
Participants will receive a Rim Hike Passport with information about
each hike and those who complete all hikes will receive an award at our
2011 end-of-year banquet. Inidivudal hikes costs $25 for Musuem members;
$45 for non-members.
Reservations are required for all events. To participate call the Swannanoa Valley Museum at 828-669-9566 or email swannanoavalleym@bellsouth.net. |
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 | Put these Exciting Spring Events in your Calendar!
March
5th ~ Upper Catawba Falls Hike
9th ~ Daycation to Blue Sea Falls ~ a great way for non-hikers to see these beautiful falls.
19th ~ Swannanoa Rim Hike: Weatherford Heights, above Blue Ridge Assembly, from Jesse's High Top
to Route 9.
April
2nd ~ Horseback tour of Camp Rockmont, Black Mountain College, and Lake Eden
16th ~ Swannanoa Rim Hike: Cherokee Boundary, from Begley home to Swannanoa Gap.
16th ~ Museum Opens for the Season!
17th ~ Thomas Wolfe House and Riverside Cemetery Tour; Lunch at Pack Tavern.
30th ~ Sunset Photography Hike on Potato Knob.
May
7th ~ Mitchell Falls Hike.
11th ~ Pisgah Inn Lunch and Cradle of Forestry Daycation.
14th ~ Wildflower Hike to Pearson’s Falls.
21st ~ Swannanoa Rim Hike: Montreat East Ridge.
Prices vary. Keep an eye on our online events calendar for any changes to this schedule. Reservations are required. For more information or to participate call the Swannanoa Valley Museum at 828-669-9566 or email swannanoavalleym@bellsouth.net. |
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| Edward DuPuy’s Family Donates Photography Collection
A
talented artist, Edward L. DuPuy, Jr., was a member of the Black
Mountain community for sixty years. During this time he worked in
the area as an artisan woodworker—hand-carving many beautiful pieces of
furniture, teaching classes at Black Mountain College, and serving as an
active member of the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild.
Ed
DuPuy is best remembered, however, as one of Black Mountain’s premier
commercial photographers. His interest in photography began as a family
hobby in the 1950s, but grew as he made pictures at weddings and
informal gatherings. He then began to specialize in portraits and
groups, even doing the retouching and lettering before technology made
those tasks mechanical. He had an eye for detail and perspective that
made his pictures, especially his scenic shots, spectacular.
In December, Ed DuPuy’s daughter Nancy DuPuy Beaver and her husband, Jack, donated DuPuy’s extensive photograph collection
of Black Mountain images to the Swannanoa Valley Museum. The Museum
board of directors and staff are so grateful to the DuPuy family for
this donation, which will preserve in photos the history of this valley
during the mid-20th century. The Museum will begin the conservation and
cataloguing of the images this spring. They will eventually be
available to the public. |
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Our Sponsor
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Since
the days when the buffalo and elk roamed the age-old migration routes
between the piedmont and mountains of North Carolina, our Valley has
been celebrated for its broad, fertile river plain, incredible
geographic beauty and yes, a rich history of wildlife. In fact, before
our earliest settlers crossed the Eastern Continental Divide in the
1780s, the Swannanoa Valley with its abundant wildlife was a prized
hunting ground used by the Cherokees and neighboring Catawba tribes.
Later, near the end of the eighteenth century, many of the world′s
leading botanists and geographers traveled to our Valley and surrounding
mountains. They declared the environment to be home to the most unique
and diverse flora and fauna that they had ever studied. Well, today
those of us who reside here can easily understand what was in the hearts
and minds of those earliest inhabitants, explorers, and pioneers. We
are so fortunate to call the upper Swannanoa Valley and the encircling
Swannanoa Rim our home.
As
Black Mountain′s oldest continuing business (since 1908) and its only
locally owned community bank, we are very proud to be the sponsor of the
Swannanoa Valley Museum′s e-newsletter.
Cheers!
M. Wendell Begley, President Black Mountain Savings Bank
"Snow covers the rim of the Swannanoa Valley"
Black Mountain Savings Bank, 200 E. State Street, Black Mountain, NC 28711
Phone (828) 669-7991, Fax (828) 669-6974, Email: mwb_bmsb@bellsouth.net
Our
Board of Directors, who all live and work in the Swannanoa Valley: M.
Wendell BegleyY, William H. "Bill" Christy, James E. "Ed" Neves, C.T.
"Tom" Sobol Jr., Joseph M. "Joe" Tyson, David D. Duncan and C. Roger
Hibbard.
Equal Housing Lender/Member FDIC
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| The
mission of the Swannanoa Valley Museum is to preserve and interpret the
social, cultural and natural history of the Swannanoa Valley, a pathway
to Western North Carolina, by developing dynamic programs and engaging
exhibitions for the education and enrichment of the community, its
children and future generations.
P.O. Box 306, Black Mountain, NC 28711 • 828-669-9566
www.swannanoavalleymuseum.org • swannanoavalleym@bellsouth.net |
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