When Joe L. Hartley organized the first Singing on the Mountain in 1924, he had no idea that it would grow and grow and last almost a century until it ended this past weekend. Much about the annual event caused it to become one of the largest and longest running gospel singings of its kind [...]
A Church and Its Cemetery Give Us a Window to the Past Much can be written about the churches and cemeteries in Avery County. The Pine Grove Church and Cemetery in the community of Ingalls has historical significance along with interesting facts. Like many other early churches, Pine Grove was first a log building that [...]
Remembering Old Christmas When the change was made from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian one in 1752, eleven days were dropped. December 25th became the date to celebrate Christmas instead of January 6th, which came to be known as Old Christmas. It notes the date that the Three Wise Men arrived at the manger [...]
Christmas Traditions of Yesteryear in the Valley As elsewhere, Toe River Valley had its Christmas traditions that were continued each year. Among them were: Going to the woods to select a Christmas tree that was either a cedar, hemlock, or white pine Bringing in the tree and decorating it with an angel on top, long [...]