Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 24

80
YEARS
Smokey Matures,
Keeps His Message
It's only we who camp who can
prevent forest fires, but it's
only Smokey the U.S. Forest
Service Bear who can remind
us like no one else of that
fact, and that nine of every
10 forest fires are started by
humans.
It seems inherent in his
message even if he's too modest
to mention it that none are
started by bears.
Smokey turns 80 this year,
and while his message has
remained constant over the
years, he does appear to have
aged a little. He was a bit shy
looking in his first appearance,
in 1944, and appears to have
grown significantly in confidence over the
decades since, now standing tall, friendly
and confident as he reminds us of what is
perhaps more important now than ever
before. -KR
The Whitetop Mountain Band appears at several Crooked Road events this summer.
Crooked Road Celebrates 20 Years
Floyd Country Store, Country Cabin,
he Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage
Music Trail turns 20 this year
with celebrations continuing across
southwest Virginia.
" This is kind of the ultimate year
for traditional Appalachian music
and country music fans, " says Tyler
Hughes, the executive director of The
Crooked Road.
The Crooked Road runs from
Franklin County west to Dickenson
County, with 10 major venues along
the way.
" The Crooked Road encapsulates
and showcases so much of the foundations
of American country music, "
says Hughes.
Y
35
YEARS AGO
" Had it not been for Governor Locke
Craig and President Theodore
Roosevelt, Mount Mitchell
today probably would be
little more than bare rock.
In 1915, the area officially
became North Carolina's
first state park. "
-Robert Satterwhite,
in his piece " Mount
Mitchell: What Happened
to the Trees? " in the July/
August 1989 issue.
Established in 2004, the road's
roots stem from a chance meeting
between Todd Christensen, a state
community developer, and the late
Joe Wilson, a music historian, at a conference
in Asheville, North Carolina,
in 2002. In those days, Christensen
was charged with opening the Ralph
Stanley Museum in Clintwood while
Wilson had just masterminded the
design of the Blue Ridge Parkway's
Blue Ridge Music Center near Galax.
Drawing a connecting line, these
men conceived a music trail-with
further stops at the Galax Fiddlers
Convention and the famous Carter
Fold of Hiltons.
" Having Joe Wilson, who was an expert
of folklore and music, made me
very optimistic, " Christensen says.
Today, the Crooked Road delivers
a diverse drive dotted by such
mountain music mainstays as the
24 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
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Blue Ridge Institute and Museum and
Bristol's Birthplace of Country Music
Museum.
" The Birthplace has been the
entity to showcase the music and the
impact that it's had on the world, "
Hughes says.
Selected upcoming 20th anniversary
events:
July 12 - Moss Arts Center at Virginia
Tech, Blacksburg
July 13 - Lyric Theater, St. Paul
Aug. 1 - Crooked Road Jam at the
Southwest Virginia Cultural Center
and Marketplace, Abingdon
Aug. 2 - Crooked Road 20th Anniversary,
Rex Theater, Galax
Aug. 3 - 50-year Anniversary of the
Carter Fold, Hiltons
Aug. 5-11 - Galax Fiddlers Convention,
Galax
Aug. 28 - Downtown Celebration,
Floyd
Sept. 13-15, Rhythm 'n' Roots Reunion,
Bristol
Oct. 5 - Crooked Road Anniversary at
Russell Theater, Lebanon
Oct. 10 - Crooked Road Anniversary
at Southwest Virginia Cultural Center
and Marketplace, Abingdon
Oct. 17 - Crooked Road Anniversary
at the Birthplace of Country Music
Museum, Bristol
Oct. 18-20 - Home Craft Days, Big
Stone Gap
Oct. 26 - Blue Ridge Folklife Festival,
Ferrum College
More info: thecrookedroadva.com
-JOE TENNIS
THE CROOKED ROAD | WHITETOP MOUNTAIN BAND
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http://www.thecrookedroadva.com http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024

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