Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021 - 17
OUR BLUE RIDGE TOWNS
FACING PAGE TOP: Postcard of storied Issaqueena Falls, circa 1900.
FACING PAGE LOWER: St. John's Lutheran Church, circa 1900.
TOP LEFT: Restored O.J. Gude Bull Durham wall mural, discovered during the restoration of Walhalla's Durham Hall Event Center.
TOP RIGHT: A 1950s couple visiting the half-completed Stumphouse Mountain.
ABOVE LEFT: Main Street Walhalla circa 1900.
ABOVE RIGHT: The automobile comes to Walhalla's Main Street, late 1920s.
was removing plaster from the brick wall, and found a
pristine Bull Durham tobacco mural painted there over
100 years ago by O.J. Gude, 'the Patriarch of Outdoor
Signage.' His work was all over Times Square. "
They own a number of other buildings in Walhalla,
and their enthusiasm for their town runs deep. " It's
a special town-we're 20 minutes to rivers with Class
V rapids and amazing waterfalls. We're surrounded
by natural barriers to overpopulation-the lakes and
mountains. "
Greg Harris's great-great-grandfather was a member
of the German Colonization Society who bought land
in Walhalla. Harris returned home after an international marketing career with Time magazine and opened
Gather 205, a restaurant, coffee shop, and " revisioned "
furniture gallery. The fifth-generation Walhallan lives in
his great-grandfather's house and is active in Partners
for Progress, formed to save Walhalla's historic buildings
and a moving force in the town's progress.
Harris is skilled at sharing a bird's-eye view of Wal-
halla's history: " The Germans brought a biergarten,
vineyards and distilleries with them. But South Carolina's 1916 Distillery Act got rid of them before national
Prohibition. " (It's worth noting that another of Harris's
great-great-grandfathers was the brewmaster of Walhalla-and Harris has his original recipe.)
" Walhalla has a great story behind it, " Harris says.
Arguably the most vital telling of that story occurs
in October, during Walhalla's longstanding Oktoberfest, when Walhallans bring out the lederhosen and
dirndls, bratwurst and German beer for a celebration of
their German heritage. Last year, Oktoberfest became a
month-long event to encourage smaller gatherings, a
change that will continue going forward.
" We believe in this town, " Lana Justice says. " We're
on the cusp. You know how it is-you live in a place,
and you sometimes can't see what you have. People are
beginning to see Walhalla again-and they're excited. "
Completely understandable when you live in The
Garden of the Gods.
MARCH/APRIL 2021
17
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021 - 3
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Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021 - Cover4
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