Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 69

all goes back to its iconic founder:
bluegrass legend Doc Watson. A
Wilkesboro native, Watson started
the festival in 1988 as a memorial
for his son, Merle, who died
in a tractor accident on the family
farm. Initially a small get-together,
MerleFest soon emerged as a
mainstay of mountain culture.
Jimmy Carter fishes for trout
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Though the tree withered during
the Gulf War, a pin oak was
planted in its place in 1991. According
to center officials, the
tree symbolizes the Great Law of
Peace, an oral constitution of the
Iroquois Confederacy that invites
individuals to fill their hearts and
minds with goodwill and a yearning
for the welfare of others.
McCreary County (Kentucky)
Museum established in Stearns.
Housed in the former Stearns Coal
and Lumber Company corporate
headquarters, the 16,000-squarefoot
museum has been preserving
local history since its founding in
1988. Today, exhibits feature everything
from Native American
artifacts to moonshining paraphernalia.
There are also plenty
of photos and documents related
to Stearns Coal and Lumber Company,
which operated in the area
from 1902 to 1975.
MerleFest begins a music tradition
at Wilkesboro. Like sipping
Cheerwine and going for
Sunday drives, attending MerleFest
is just what North Carolinians
do. Hosted each spring in the
darling town of Wilkesboro, the
Americana music festival attracts
some 75,000 visitors and a bevy
of big-name artists like The Avett
Brothers, Dolly Parton, Willy Nelson
and just about any Americana
performer you can think of. And it
in Ellijay, Georgia. In 1988, former
president Jimmy Carter offered
The Washington Post an
in-person tell-all from his 10-acre
estate on White Mountain in Ellijay,
Georgia. The article follows
the civil servant as he fishes for
rainbow trout in Turniptown
Creek and points out dogwoods,
wild honeysuckles and other floral
species to the reporter. But the
article isn't all fun and games. In
the feature, Carter also delves into
his time in the Oval Office, giving
readers an inside look at everything
from the energy crisis to the
Panama Canal Treaty.
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
starts chuggin'. Established
in 1988, the Great Smoky Mountains
Railroad invites tourists to
experience the rugged beauty of
Western North Carolina from
aboard a locomotive. The train
runs along Murphy Branch, a 116mile
section of railway stretching
from Asheville to Murphy. Forged
JULY/AUGUST 2023 69
CLOCKWISE
FROM TOP
LEFT, THIS
PAGE:
North Carolina's
MerleFest held its
inaugural event.
Jimmy Carter
went fishing for
trout at Ellijay,
Georgia.
Great Smoky
Mountains
Railroad got its
chug on.
COURTESY OF MERLEFEST
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023

Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 4
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 5
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 6
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 7
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 8
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 9
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 10
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 11
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 12
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 13
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 16
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 17
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 18
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 19
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 21
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 22
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 23
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 25
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 26
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 27
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 28
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 29
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 30
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 31
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 32
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 33
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 34
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 35
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 36
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 37
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 40
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 42
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 43
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 46
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 47
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 50
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 51
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 57
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 60
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 62
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 63
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 66
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 67
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 68
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 69
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 70
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 71
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 72
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 73
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 74
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 75
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 76
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 77
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 81
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 82
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover4
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