Cheers to a Simpler Christmas

There’s beauty in simplicity when infusing a splash of holiday cheer throughout the house.

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Festival of Lights

Everyone – everyone – is invited to the lighting of the first candle of the Menorah at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park in Highlands on the

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Winter Wonderland

The Village Green and surrounding shops and businesses in Cashiers will be a Glittering Wonderland throughout the grey days and dark, dark nights

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A State Of Mind

Through the ages, many branches of yoga and meditation have developed and from those branches various styles have been established. The science of yoga offers bodily cleansing techniques and guidelines for how we expend our energy through behaviors and thoughts, offering many ways to center the mind in focus. Vipassana meditation is one example.  Unlike other mediations that suggest gently …

The Elbow-its Many Uses and Injuries!

The elbow is the connecting joint between the hand and shoulder.  Yes, we all know that! The elbow joint is important in many ways for movement, leverage and lifting. Whether you’re an athlete or not, the elbow’s function is very important in assisting the hand in dynamic movement. The wrist is basically to help with fine motor skills of the …

Delivering the Best ER

The new Emergency Department at the Highlands-Cashiers Hospital is nearing completion and is expected to open in May.   As the excitement builds, the staff anxiously await their new home.  Cindy Pierson, Interim CNO for the hospital, is proud to report she’s been involved in the planning since June 2015. “I, along with other clinical team members, have had input …


That Old Village Feel

Cashiers Historical Society’s mission is preserving the heritage of Cashiers Valley through education, stewardship and advocacy.  The society strives to recognize Cashiers’ history through publications, awards, events, and projects.  One such award is the Village Heritage Award, which is given annually to a building, old or new, which has been built or repurposed in keeping with the “Old Village” feel …

Do I Hear an Amen?

It shall be said, though you won’t find it in either Testament, that God truly does have a sense of humor.  Do I hear an amen? When Billy Potts was minister of the Highlands Baptist Church in the late 1920s and 30s, he delivered such moving sermons that his words often brought him to tears.   Marshall Reese, ten-ish at …

Wash Day

When you finish reading this article, you’ll hug your washing machine.  The majority of mountain families didn’t get electricity hooked up until after World War II.  I’ve used two sources for this article, one being advice given to a new bride from her Kentucky grandmother and another being the memories of an Appalachian man. The Kentucky grandmother wrote the following …


When Is Trout Season?

Being a fly fishing outfitter in town for over 30 years, we’ve answered a lot of questions concerning where to fish, how to fish, and what to fish with, but the most frequently asked question over the years has to be “When is trout season?”   There is a common misconception about the time of year an angler is able …

The Slate-Colored Dark-eyed Junco

The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is a ground-dwelling sparrow often seen hopping around on the forest floor, flying low between shrubs and Rhododendron bushes and even skittering around our feet.  It is recognizable by its dark gray back, white belly, and two long outer tail feathers that flash bright white in flight.  Juncos emit a sharp “chip…chip…chip” which seems to …


Gray Catbird

Appearing in wooded areas, this medium-sized songbird occupies the underbrush, feeding on berries and insects. The Catbird, sporting slate gray plumage, has a slow warbling song that is varied and hoarse including higher notes, chips and squeaks. Most likely to be recognized by its distinctive call, the Catbird lives up to its name with its clear, catlike mewing: mwee and …

Wildflower Whimsy

Humans have used fire as a tool for thousands of years to manipulate the landscape.  Nonetheless, the many wildfires that impacted the Western North Carolina mountains last fall were cause for alarm for many of our residents.   The fires have been extinguished, the smoke no longer lingers in the air, but many questions remain.  Will there be long-term impacts …

Billowing Azaleas

Being from South Carolina, spring evokes memories of billowing azaleas, like rainbow-colored clouds floating across the fresh new green of the season.  Who knew, just three hours north to these beautiful mountains spring would be so different? Although azaleas can grow in the higher elevations (there are some at 5,000 feet on the Blue Ridge Parkway), we have to be …