Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 5

FROM THE EDITOR
CONTRIBUTORS
Eric J. Wallace
29 Mountain Counties
PATH OF THE PARKWAY
KURT
RHEINHEIMER
worked to build a linear park to connect
Shenandoah National Park to the
north with Great Smoky Mountains
National Park to the south.
And what do these counties offer,
aside from embracing America's most
scenic drive?
Well, the very core of this magaVIEWFROMALOVE.COM
T
hey
range in elevation from a
minimum of 289 feet above
sea level along the James River
in Nelson County, Virginia, to Yancey
County, North Carolina's 6,684 elevation
at the top of Mount Mitchell.
Population? Nelson ranks last in all
in Virginia with about 11,000 residents,
while
North Carolina's Buncombe
County is seventh among that state's
county ranks with about 269,000.
Size? Virginia's Augusta County is
the state's second largest at 967 square
miles while North Carolina's Mitchell
is the state's fourth smallest at 221
square miles.
Signed on the parkway? Only Haywood
and Jackson, North Carolina.
And what do those counties have
in common? They're among the 29
Virginia and North Carolina counties
that host the gentle and flowing path
of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which
was integrated into their identities
beginning in the 1930s as the nation
LETTER
Country Doctors & Ice Cream
The article about a prescription
for ice cream in the March/April
issue struck a heartstring. I am
a transplant to South Carolina
about nine years ago from the
Finger Lakes area in New York.
My father, Dr. George Allen, was
the epitome of a country doctor
as we fondly remember them.
We lived in a tiny rural area-no
stoplights. In the 1950s he had
office hours in the evenings and
on Saturday mornings, and made
house calls even in the middle
of the night. I used to ride with
him on Saturday morning as he
made house calls before seeing
patients in the hospital. It was
our time together. On more than
one occasion he followed the
snow plow to the hospital with a
woman in labor in the front seat.
I still remember his " Dr's bag. "
It was brown, and gradually the
leather wore with its use. It sat
near the front door, and in it
were all sorts of medical miracles
in small vials. I was told by my
father's successor that some of
those were not allowed in bags
now.
Because we were rural, we
received all sorts of treats in lieu
of payment-vegetables, meat
and the very best homemade ice
cream. We were very fortunate to
have doctors such as my father
and many others, who epitomized
the very reason for medicine.
Thank you for bringing those
heroes to the spotlight.
-Louisa Lyman,
Salem, South Carolina
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 5
MAY/JUNE 2024
zine's coverage area, for one. And several
wonderful small cities and towns,
with Roanoke and Asheville leading
the way and a bounty of others also offering
warm and intriguing welcomes:
The likes of Staunton, Waynesboro,
Lexington and Lynchburg in Virginia
(though it should be pointed out that
Virginia is the only state in the country
where cities are not part of counties).
And in North Carolina: Boone/
Blowing Rock, Black Mountain, Hendersonville,
Brevard, Waynesville and
Cherokee.
And mountains! The highest in
many of the 29 counties is accessible,
along the Appalachian Trail
(especially in Virginia) or other trails.
It's a happy little discovery that The
Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All and
I have bagged the highest spot in at
least eight of the 12 Virginia counties,
and have a start on North Carolina
with at least four of the 17.
More work to do, but hey, somebody's
gotta get out on the parkway
and its host counties and get it done.
(Camp LIGHT) is an awardwinning
lifestyle journalist based
in Staunton, Virginia, who has
contributed to WIRED, Outside,
Reader's Digest, Atlas Obscura, Best
American Food Writing, All About Beer and more.
He is a two-time James Beard Foundation media
award nominee and was named an International
Association of Culinary Professionals Best
Feature Story media award finalist in 2021.
Jay Huron
(Kingsport Greenbelt) is a graduate
of ETSU's BFA program and was
a graphic and web designer for
17 years until the pandemic gave
him the opportunity to pursue his
passion for photography full-time with his
company caseSensitive Photos. He specializes
in commercial (including drone), event, tourism,
real estate and his true photographic passions,
wildlife and nature. He volunteers at Bays
Mountain Park and has helped raise seven wolf
puppies, two bobcats, a fox and a skunk there!
Sarah Riddell
(Festivals Guide) is associate editor of
the magazIne and a journalist from
Southwest Virginia who is passionate
about showcasing remarkable people
and businesses making a difference in
tight-knit communities like her own. She's a
regular contributor to Blue Ridge Country and its
sister publications, The Roanoker and bridebook.
When she's not writing or researching, she enjoys
gardening and spending quality time with family.
Nancy Henderson
(Creature Feature, Jerry Harvey) is
an award-winning journalist and
author who enjoys writing about
interesting people and places. Her
work has appeared in Smithsonian,
The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal, Southern Living and many other
publications. An avid flower gardener and nature
enthusiast, she's written the Creature Feature
column for Blue Ridge Country since 1998.
http://www.VIEWFROMALOVE.COM
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024
