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There are so many great articles in the pages of The Laurel Magazine, sometimes you want to read them again. You won’t miss a thing. Use these helpful search parameters and find just what you’re looking for about Highlands, NC and Cashiers, NC.
What’s in a Name?
There have been articles in The Laurel about how Cashiers and Glenville got their names and now it’s time to discuss how Jackson County got its name. The earliest settlers of the Cashiers Valley arrived in the 1820s and 1830s when the area was part of Macon County. It remained in Macon County for several decades until Jackson County was …
Highlands Heroine Dr. Lapham
Dr. Mary Lapham broke all kinds of boundaries. She was a tomboy, a sailor, a gunwoman, an equestrian, a doctor, a humanitarian, an inventor, and a precursor to the Women’s Suffrage Movement. One of her favorite places to rest, nest, and wrestle problems was Highlands, for it was here she found a station of inspiration for all her boundary-crossings. Born …
Keeping Abreast of Birds
Though it’s been an unconventional summer here in Highlands, the Highlands Biological Foundation continues its dedication to research here on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau. The foundation annually supports research at the Highlands Biological Station, and over the past 10 years, has awarded over $300,000 in scholarships and grants to visiting researchers who have come to Highlands to study various aspects of …
Parkway’s String of Pearls
A few miles north of the Highland-Cashiers Plateau — out State Road 23/74 north of Sylva — is America’s most visited national park. Begun in the 1930s and not completed until 1987, the Blue Ridge Parkway runs between the Great Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Architect Stanley Abbott designed the BRP to be a …
A Practice Tee To First Tee
It has often been said that the longest walk in golf is from the practice tee to the first tee. I see players of all levels struggle to take their range game to the golf course. Why is it so difficult? Golf is one of the few sports that we don’t practice on the same field that we play on. …
Red Crossbills
This unusual member of the finch family has a beak specially formed to extract seeds from pine cones. The Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) inserts its slightly opened bill between conifer scales and bites down to release the seed. They also feed from Hemlock, Fir and Spruce trees. There are upwards of a dozen different types of Red Crossbills which are …
Some Sage Advice
Russian Sage is a member of the mint family, and her real name is Perovskia atriplicfolia. In the 1840s, Russian botanist Karelin named the plant after B.A.Perovski from Turkestan, the governor of the Russian province Orenburg. Despite its name, Russian sage has no other ties to Russia and despite its looks and some characteristics, nor is it a sage. This …
Fly Fishing in the Age of the Coronavirus
These are strange days for sure. One of the pluses is that a lot of people have found their love of nature again. Hiking, biking, paddling, and fly fishing have all been on the uptick since we have been asked to shelter in place. Most of the time these activities are done without big crowds and not right next to …
Lazy Days at the Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge sets the stage at the trailhead of the Chattooga Loop Trail, a two-mile hike that runs along the Chattooga River and is a popular place to kick back and spend the day. The first leg of the trail is the portion that runs adjacent to the Chattooga River with several spots along the way to set …
A Quest for Antiques
Every year Cherie and Bill Tibbetts make the trip “Across the Pond” to Europe to hunt for antique treasures for their shop in Cashiers. In 2020 they had planned to add stops in Southern France with the goal of finding additional sources of French antique furniture and accessories. At the time, they had no idea that Covid-19 would be …
Get Ready to Shop
When it comes to shopping on the Plateau, Highlands and Cashiers often steal all the thunder from businesses that are more outlying, but don’t let that fool you. Treasures await you Off the Beaten Path and Sapphire is one such place where you’ll find treasures galore. For starters, golf enthusiasts will find that all their golf cart needs …
Lowcountry Oyster Roast
In the South Carolina Lowcountry where I lived most of my adult years, an Oyster Roast is simply a way of life. Indeed, of the thousands of meals I have eaten over many decades, no meals have been as pleasurable or memorable or left me as happily contented as those that occurred in the outdoors, shucking and slurping briny mollusks …
