PROGRAM: “The Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” a lecture and book signing by Adam H. Alfrey for his new book release from Arcadia Publishing
DATE: 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012
LOCATION: East Tennessee History Center
601 South Gay Street
Knoxville, TN 37902
ADMISSION: FREE and open to the public
East Tennessee History Center curator of exhibitions and operations manager Adam Alfrey will present a lecture and book signing at 2 p.m., Saturday, December 15, based on his new book The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, part of Arcadia Publishing’s popular Postcard History Series.
Featuring more than 200 vintage postcards drawn from both public and private collection, the book illustrates the story of the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, following it from a grassroots effort to preserve its natural beauty to its transformation today as the most visited park in the United States.
This pictorial history provides readers with a unique opportunity to reconnect with the history that shaped their community through rare postcards, photographs from Jim Thompson, Jack Huff, Louis Jones, and other regional photographers, as well as images of regional stereotypes, such as the “liquored-up hillbilly” and the “teepee-housed Indian.”
Among the diverse historical topics covered in photos and prose are the mountaineers and the accompany hillbilly stereotypes, the important role of early photographers in selling the park movement, and a “postcard” tour over Newfound Gap Road. The story of the Cherokee, efforts of surrounding communities, such as Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Townsend and Maggie Valley, to capitalize on the Smokies’ popularity, and the resulting tourist boom complete the story
Adam H. Alfrey, is a native of Knoxville and a graduate of the University of Tennessee. He currently serves as operations manager and curator of exhibitions for the East Tennessee History Center and is active within the state’s museum community, volunteering with the Tennessee Association of Museums, Humanities Tennessee, and the American Association for State and Local History. To compile and edit his postcard history, Alfrey utilized the collections of the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Archives, the East Tennessee Historical Society, as well as a number of private collections.
The lecture will begin at 2 p.m. at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. in Knoxville. Books will be available for purchase and signing. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824 or visit the website at www.EastTNHistory.org.
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