Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 6

Letters

Kudos, Memories for the 25th
The Healey on the Parkway
Just took our new (July/August) issue
out of the mailbox, and without even
looking inside I already love it!
After a long career in magazine
publishing in New York, my wife and I
retired to Asheville three years ago
and brought our 1967 Austin-Healey
3000.
We live right by the parkway, near
the Folk Art Center, and enjoy driving
our Healey on the parkway and
throughout the Blue Ridge region. I’m
sending along a photo taken on the
parkway.
–Larry Griswold, Asheville, N.C.

time have been spent in the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. I
have hiked about half of the
Appalachian Trail – not in one trek,
but over the years. And, at 88 years,
and now without a helpmeet, and
with continuing responsibility as a
full-time pastor, the prospect of a
life-long desire to make the thruhike, is fast fading from possibility.
In the early years I carried each of
our three children on my shoulders
until they could hike on their own, as
we hit the various trails. Today my
youngest great-grandchild is too big
to be carried!
Many of the favorites listed in
your 25th were our favorites as well.
I marvel at the goodness of a
Creator-God who has provided such
a blessing as the Blue Ridge area for
the enjoyment of His creatures.
– Frederick L. Huth, Jr., Pastor,
Faith Bible Church, Lynchburg, S.C.

Beer City!

A Flood of Memories
The 25th Anniversary Edition is tremendous! Thank you for stirring up
so many years of memories.
I was first introduced to the region
around the age of 10. My early-teen
years saw much time spent in the
Maryland mountains. World War II
interrupted my life until 1946, when I
was finally discharged from the U.S.
Navy.
Married in 1944, our first vacation
was in the fall of 1946, when my
wife, three-month-old daughter and I
spent a week camping and hiking at
Big Meadows on Skyline Drive. Since
then, nearly all vacations and spare
6 | BlueRidgeCountry.com

I am a subscriber to your magazine
and love to read your articles about
the Blue Ridge region. I was very interested in how the craft brewing industry is taking shape in the South. I am
also from Grand Rapids, Mich., and
take great pride in our craft breweries,
which troubled me when I read your
recent article (July/August 2013, page
65) about Asheville earning the title of
“Beer City, USA.” That ranking was
actually from last year when Asheville
tied for first place with Grand Rapids.
The current polling has Grand Rapids
ranked as the undisputed #1 city for
this title with Asheville coming in
third. Although I love Asheville and
would even entertain moving there
someday, I still call Grand Rapids
“home.” Again, thank you very much
for your excellent magazine. I will
always be a devout subscriber.
– Chuck Geiger, Grand Rapids,
Mich.

Editor’s note: Our issue went to
press before the 2013 results.
Asheville was named Beer City U.S.A.
four years in a row (tying twice),
including 2012.

Foodie Tour Success
My husband and I recently took our
annual slow drive down the Skyline
Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway, spending a week enjoying the mountains,
side roads and small communities that
make up our beloved mountains.
Since so many concessions along the
parkway have closed over the years,
finding places to have lunch has
become a challenge. Your Foodie Tour
series [M/A, M/J, J/A, 2012] came to
our rescue and we had three incredible home runs. Gertie’s Country Store
on the Tye River Turnpike in Vesuvius,
Va. was delightful! The barbecue
sandwich was even better than you
described, and we’ll drive from
Greensboro just for lunch!
In Sparta, we easily found Brown’s
Restaurant and had delicious vegetable plate lunches. Everyone who
works at Brown’s makes you feel like
you’re at home. Thank you, we’ll be
back. We have had lunch at the Sweet
Onion in Waynesville before, but have
never had the Black Angus Burger –
awesome! We also invite readers to
try East Village Grille at 1177 Tunnel
Road in Asheville – a long-time personal favorite of ours, where the
food, beverages and service are all
top notch, and it is just a short drive
from the parkway.
Thank you all!
–Emily J. Vail, Greensboro, N.C.

Corrections
The monarch butterfly in the July/
August photoessay (pages 50-51) was
misidentified due to an editing error.
And the upper photo on page 53
shows a banded pennant dragonfly. 

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Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013

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