Sevier News Messenger Sevier County News and Opinion
A full slate of Meet the Author events is being planned in Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Sugarlands Visitor Center in the coming weeks. During these sessions, the authors will discuss their work and how the national park impacts their creative endeavors.
Author Kim Delozier
Friday, May 27, 2016, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., retired GSMNP wildlife ranger Kim Delozier will discuss his books “Bear in the Back Seat I & II.”
About the book – Truth is stranger than fiction, right? Absolutely, especially when your job brings you into contact with “an extraordinary bear, hormonally-crazed elk, homicidal wild boars, hopelessly timid wolves, and 9 million tourists, some of whom are clueless.”
Author Dan Paulin
Saturday, June 4, 2016, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Great Smoky Mountains Association sales associate Dan Paulin will discuss his books “Images of Lost Elkmont.”
About the book – The ghost-town feeling of the cottages in Elkmont fascinated Paulin and drove his desire to know more about the people who lived in them. Where did these people come from? Why did they choose this spot to come together? What did they do for fun? When did they leave these homes behind? All these questions and more nagged at him, pushing him ever deeper into the pursuit of answers.
Saturday, June 11, 2016, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Carroll McMahan will discuss his book, “Elkmont’s Uncle Lem Ownby.”
About the book – As the last leaseholder living within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Lem became a legend, selling his honey and offering pearls of wisdom to hikers, writers and even the governor. Lem’s principles remained solid, his opinions so unwavering that he once refused to entertain two Supreme Court justices.
Thursday, June 30, 2016, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nancy Pafford will discuss her books, “Cherokee Rose” and “White Feather.”
About her books – “White Feather” recreates the atmosphere of the removal of the Cherokee during the infamous Trail of Tears, while the sequel “Cherokee Rose” tells the story of White Feather’s great granddaughter, who faces a similar trail as she, an orphan, learns of her Cherokee Heritage and in doing so, discovers a new destiny.
Great Smoky Mountains Association, one of the national park’s oldest nonprofit funding partners, will serve as host of each Meet the Author event. GSMA has provided more than $34 million to support the park’s educational, scientific and historical programs since its inception more than 60 years ago. Proceeds from membership dues and the sale of ranger-approved educational merchandise, including each of these books, offered in nine visitor center locations in and around the park enhance the visitor experience, as well as benefit park programs and services.
For more information about how you can enrich your national park experience by becoming a GSMA member, visit SmokiesInformation.org or call 888.898.9102, Ext. 325, 222 or 254.
Photo: Ken Lund [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)], via flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlund/5810361045
