Churches have played many roles in western North Carolina. During the week, they once drew children from miles around to attend school. On Saturdays, they became community centers for potlucks and dances. And on Sundays, parishioners still gather to worship, answering the call of the church bell’s peal.
A hundred years ago, families called this lush valley in Haywood County home. Today, their descendants return each August to celebrate their roots and reconnect with neighbors that could’ve been.
Among the stone and pine in our southern mountains, monied gentry built their summer homes and established towns that helped define the area.
Across North Carolina, bridges connect us. And when those connections are a single lane wide, we learn more than just how to get from Point A to Point B.
For members of a model railroad club in Hendersonville, a love of toy trains that started with a simple track beneath the Christmas tree now stretches across western North Carolina.
An artist with a taste for brandy has transformed an abandoned building into The Brandy Bar, a space where complex fruit flavors mingle with colorful art.
On a farm in a cove in the Smokies, a biologist turned cheesemaker is bringing a slice of woods back to life. Like a pebble tossed into a pond, every careful decision she makes, every creature she cares for, has a lasting effect on the forest she’s trying to save.
For nearly 30 years, Lulu’s on Main has been an anchor of this Jackson County town. Now, the restaurant is strengthening its connections with neighbors down the street — and cuisine from around the world.
Descendants of the world’s most famous conjoined twins, Chang and Eng Bunker, return to Mount Airy every year to reconnect with relatives from around the globe.
